


Words From the Heart

by jacksparrow589



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Letters, Love Letters, Mentions of Anne's past, Romantic Fluff, Shirbert, Some Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 28,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21728065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksparrow589/pseuds/jacksparrow589
Summary: Anne and Gilbert’s relationship post 3x10, both as pen pals and as something so much more.
Relationships: Cole Mackenzie & Anne Shirley, Diana Barry & Anne Shirley, Diana Barry & Cole MacKenzie, Gilbert Blythe & Sebastian "Bash" Lacroix, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley, Marilla Cuthbert & Matthew Cuthbert & Anne Shirley, Ruby Gillis/Moody Spurgeon McPherson
Comments: 172
Kudos: 548





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This feels more like a series of connected one- and two-shots than a cohesive, novel-type story as there are weeks- or months-long timeskips between most chapters, but I’m still enjoying writing it. I’m about half-way written with an outline for the rest of it, and I am so excited to finish!
> 
> On a more story-related note, I am playing seriously fast-and-loose with how long schooling would take because hey, plot advancement!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which letter each person is responding to is going to change from chapter to chapter. This chapter, each is writing the other at the same time.

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I look like my mother.  
_ _I was devastated to_ _receive_ _news from Scotland that no trace could be found of my parents there, but Marilla and Matthew tracked down a_ _neighbour_ _who had a book of flowers my father illustrated, and it contains a drawing of my mother, as well! I will have to show it to you someday.  
_ _Onto more pressing matters, however: specifically, my promised questions.  
_ _Diana—my dearest, most blessed friend who I must thank a thousand and one times—filled me in on your discussion with her on the train. She said you mentioned writing a note to me after learning of the one I wrote to you before you dashed off to find me. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that, having very much misinterpreted your actions, I was never able to bring myself to read it. What did it say?  
_ _Another: Given those glorious kisses that transpired between us before you left, my housemates insist that we are courting. I hesitate to ask because it seems it should be obvious, but most of my assumptions regarding you lately have led me to precisely the wrong conclusion. So, are we in fact courting?  
_ _I hope you are settling in well, though I miss you achingly much. Perhaps it's a bit wicked, but I hope you miss me just as terribly, so that my letters (and, in time, I hope, a visit or two) can bring you some relief.  
_ _I remain, with all my love and affection (but particularly my love!),  
_ _Yours,  
_ _Anne_

Anne folded the letter, impulsively holding it to her chest for a moment before she tucked it into an envelope and sealed it. To anyone else, it would be silly to think that she had somehow imbued the paper with her love, but to her, it was the most real thing ever.

* * *

_My dearest Anne,_

_How wonderful it is to write those words and feel the truth of them! Until today, I hadn't thought I would.  
_ _I'm sorry that we've missed each other these past months, and infinitely more so that we shall continue to now, though I know your words will make the distance more bearable for me, and I hope mine will for you.  
_ _Now, onto my questions.  
_ _How long, exactly, have you known you love me? (I hope you will not be cross with Diana for having revealed your feelings to me; she was acting with the best of intentions, and I believe we both owe her gratitude.)  
_ _Would you allow me to court you? It does seem a bit backward to ask in light of today's events, but given that my last assumption about your feelings was horribly wrong, I feel I ought to be as clear as possible regarding my intentions this time.  
_ _Would you please write me back as soon as you are able? I want to converse with you about everything, no matter how small or large.  
_ _I miss you already. I didn't have enough time to hold you close or walk with your hand in mine, but at least I have a few sweet memories to reflect on until I can visit.  
_ _All my love and forever yours,  
_ _Gilbert_

Gilbert traced the edge of the paper with one finger before folding it and carefully sliding it into an envelope. He could never say enough about his feelings for Anne, but now that he had the chance, by God, he was going to try.

* * *

Between Diana’s arrival and Anne and Gilbert’s “utterly scandalous embraces” (as deemed by Jane), the girls were fairly buzzing with excitement into the next day. Upon meeting up with the rest of the Avonlea Queen’s attendees, Tillie shrieked the news of both occurrences.

Moody blinked. “So… Gilbert isn’t engaged?”

Anne shook her head, not sure how much to say.

Diana smoothly cut in, “It wasn’t a good match, Moody.”

“Because Gilbert’s had eyes for nobody but Anne since she showed up in Avonlea, you mean?” Josie supplied impatiently.

The girls looked around uncomfortably while the boys stared at Anne, who was flushed straight through to the roots of her hair.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Diana responded primly. “The rest of us should hope we’re nearly so lucky to find someone who looks at us that way and means it.”

Josie’s eyes darkened. Diana hadn’t meant to invoke memories of Billy, but she hadn’t exactly been trying to be nice.

Moody, in typical fashion, didn’t really notice. “That makes sense. Well, it’s not as exciting as Paris, but congratulations, Anne. I’m happy for you.” He offered her an encouraging smile.

“Thank you,” Anne said quietly.

“And you _like_ him?” Jane whispered to Ruby.

Ruby shrugged. “His clumsiness is very endearing!” she replied defensively.

Jane tilted her head to the side. At least Ruby’s affections were returned after so many years. She smiled at her friend, and they turned back to the conversation the rest of the group was having about the potential new adventures Gilbert was having. Anne was filling them in on how he must have gotten in: Miss Stacy must have contacted Emily Oak.

“A female doctor?” Tillie said with equal parts incredulity and reverence. “I’d love to be a nurse under her tutelage. She must know so much. Do you think Gilbert might be able to ask how I can get to Toronto after Queens?”

Anne nodded with a bright smile. “I’m certain he can. I’ll send him word with my next letter. Or you can write him, if you’d like?”

Tillie shook her head. “He’s probably already busy enough. Maybe when we’re closer to graduating.”

“If you’re sure...” Anne was unconvinced.

“I’m sure.” Tillie smiled. “Anyway, we’re bound to see each other in Avonlea over breaks. I’ll be fine. But thank you, Anne.”

“Do you plan on transferring to Toronto as well, Anne?” Ruby asked.

“I won’t need to in order to get a teaching certificate, but I suppose I could teach there, or get a more advanced certificate,” Anne mused.

“You would move without any engagement?” Charlie asked, his doubt of Anne’s morality crystal clear.

Diana rolled her eyes. “You say that as though they couldn’t get engaged or even married before then, Charlie. And wouldn’t you move for such an opportunity?”

Charlie blushed a bit, and Diana wondered if he didn’t still carry a bit of a torch for her best friend. She hoped he’d find someone a bit more his pace… and possibly a bit more respect for women along the way. Anne shot Diana a grateful look, and Diana flashed a satisfied grin in return. No matter where life took them, they’d always have each other’s backs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The letters this chapter are responding to the other's letter form last chapter.

_Dear Anne,  
_ _It seems we are both in agreement that we ought—or at least want—to be courting. As such, I will strive to be a (mostly) proper gentleman, though I will let it be known that I have very much come to appreciate your view that there is a time and a place to disregard propriety as long as it causes no harm to do so.  
_ _In light of that, my answer to your other question was one such expression of that. Given that at the time I thought my affections were not returned, I would like to omit the expression of that sentiment, and instead_ _include only the salient portions._

_You are the fond object of my affection and desire. You, and you alone, are the keeper of the key to my heart. ~~I am not eng~~ I am not engaged, nor will I be, unless it’s to you, Anne. My Anne with an “e”. It always has been, and always will be you._

_You can see that I was debating_ _inclusion of a certain_ _sentence_ _. I opted to keep it in_ _, and now I feel I must explain that I do genuinely wish to marry you in the future. However, I know it is early yet, and so I request no promises of you. I just want you to know how I feel.  
_ _It is perhaps imprudent to end a letter with such a weighty matter, but as we’ve found, keeping our emotions from each other has not exactly served us well these past few years. I hope I have not alarmed you, and that if you feel at all pressured, you will tell me so that I can apologize.  
_ _As ever, I close with my love,  
_ _Gilbert_

Gilbert sighed. He had drafted the letter mentally a few times before committing to this version of it. It was honest without being too expectant, and the light, fluttery feeling it gave him to know his words would finally reach Anne as he’d intended made him think he had chosen the right course of action.

He read Anne’s first letter again, smiling at both the memory of her hand ghosting across the back of his neck as her lips met his, as sincere as any words she could use to assure him his feelings were returned.

He checked to make sure the ink was dry, then folded his new missive and tucked it into an envelope.

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _As we asked the same question about courting, I am going to assume the answer is yes. It doesn’t give me as much of a thrill to give it such a clinical term, I admit, but I am willing to follow the rules most of the time if it means you know how I feel, and moreover, that I know you feel the same way.  
_ _So, how long have I felt this way? Far longer than I would ever be willing to admit to anyone other than yourself or Diana. I suspect it started the day we met, but I didn’t know until it was very nearly too late._ _I am so glad I can now tell you I love you without reservation or worry, and to even see it written back is most thrilling. I can only imagine how it will be to hear it when I see you again.  
_ _Regarding your request for conversation, I’m hardly sure where to begin. We are settling into life at the boardinghouse. Word somehow got back to Mrs. Blackmore about our display of affection, however, and I have been told that I am to behave decorously if you are to be allowed back. Please don’t be sorry; it was well worth it. I’ll just have to explore Charlottetown for the local_ _alcoves.  
_ _There is so much more I want to say, and to hear from you. It will be difficult to get by with only letters while we need to, but in the absence of anything else, I vow to make the best of it.  
_ _With all my love,  
_ _Anne_

Anne hoped her comments about cozy alcoves and impropriety weren’t too forward. She recalled that Gilbert, proper as he was, had a bit of a streak when so impassioned, and the only time he’d called her out had been—deservedly—during the Josie Pye scandal. And he had been the one to decide to nearly miss his train in favor of kissing her…

Anne sighed and bit her lip to keep from smiling even though there was nobody else around to see. She gave the letter a quick kiss after folding it, then sealed it into an envelope.

* * *

The first week at Queens had fairly flown by, though Anne had spent a good portion of it in a loving daze. The news of Gilbert’s broken engagement had reached Avonlea, however, and had brought a letter from Miss Stacy inquiring whether Anne knew, as, now that they were no longer instructor and pupil, she could say with great certainty that she’d noticed Gilbert and Anne’s attraction, but also that something had been off for nearly a month before they’d departed.

Anne had flushed upon reading it, but Diana and the other girls had joined her in uproarious laughter.

“He was always very good at getting your attention, but never very good at expressing his feelings,” Tillie laughed as she recalled Gilbert’s first day back with Anne.

“And when he spun you out of place at dance practice? I was watching, and I do believe every single girl present swooned, though none more than you, Anne,” Ruby teased.

“I did not _swoon_!” protested Anne.

Josie laughed. “You might as well have. It was like the rest of us didn’t exist. Poor Charlie had to switch positions several times to keep up, and it was all for naught.”

Jane raised her eyebrows at Josie. “Poor Charlie, hmm?”

Josie scoffed. “I pity the poor creature, but I’ve set my sights rather higher.” She waited for the other girls to cluster, and they did. “Roy Gardner is calling on me this Saturday in the parlor, and then we’re to go for a stroll!”

The girls all cheered her on, but Anne and Diana exchanged anxious glances. Royal Gardner had paid his attentions first to Diana, who had told Anne in confidence that something about the young man seemed insincere, but she wasn’t sure what. After that, and after Anne delivered a particularly impassioned recitation of a passage for English class, Roy's attentions had found her, instead. Anne had quickly deflected, citing Gilbert, but Roy's reaction to that had proven entirely unsettling: he had smiled too congenially and asked if Anne’s beau wasn’t the same Gilbert Blythe who had thrown one Winifred Rose over for an enchanting redhead before explaining that the Gardners and the Roses were business partners on occasion. (“It started as a joke that the Gardners ought to attend the Roses with the promise that the Roses would return great bounty, but it has worked out, so I am at times in the presence of the lovely Winifred, and we do correspond regularly.”)

Anne had asked Diana whether she ought to write to Gilbert about it, or whether it wasn’t worth worrying him. She certainly wasn’t about to accept Roy’s advances, and he had backed off, but she couldn’t shake the oily feeling she got from him. Diana had thought it reasonable not to involve Gilbert just yet, particularly as there was nothing he could do at a distance, and dragging him into even tangential involvement with the Roses was unlikely to end well. Anne had countered with the possibility that Roy might smear Gilbert’s name if he did have connections in Ontario, but it seemed unlikely.

As long as things remained relatively calm and Roy seemed sincere in his romantic pursuit of Josie, Diana suggested a compromise of bringing Roy up when they were home for Christmas. Hopefully the relative humiliation for Winnie would have faded at that point.

“...with any luck, I’ll see London soon enough!” Josie crowed excitedly.

Anne had to smile. She genuinely hoped Roy was sincere in his affection for Josie; the girl did deserve happiness, just the same as anyone else. She grabbed her Green Gables pillow and hugged it tightly as Tillie launched into a story about the Pauls, who appeared to still be her hopeless swains and quickly forgot about her unease for the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As improbable as it is that Miss Stacy would actually write to Anne and be like "yo, I saw the way you two looked at each other, please actually do something about it", it was WAY too much fun not to include.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy shows up in this chapter. I made him more of an ass than he probably is, but there are reasons that will be explained in the chapter end notes.
> 
> Also Charlottetown definitely has a garden of a lover's lane because it's a fun plot contrivance, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
> 
> As for the letters in this chapter, Anne is responding to Gilbert's from last chapter, and Gilbert is responding to Anne's from this chapter.

Anne read Gilbert’s second letter. Then she read it again. And a third time. She pinched her wrist several times, wincing the final time at the small bruise that was forming.

The feelings were overwhelming, and she wished with all her heart that Gilbert was here so that she could just _talk_ with him, rather than waiting days for a response. Her heartbeat was speeding, and her vision swam with tears. If only she’d known. And now that she did, she didn’t entirely know how she felt. Too young to be making any sort of commitment on the level of marriage; that was for certain. Gilbert wouldn’t lie, though, so that he was willing to wait (and furthermore, that he’d correctly deduced that this revelation might shock Anne) calmed her somewhat. Still, her letter writing went slowly as she tried to figure out what to say.

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _This must be one of the few times in my life I have been left without words. It is taking me rather longer than normal to write this letter because I’m not sure what I’m feeling can be captured accurately with words.  
_ _I admit to being taken aback, but not alarmed or pressured. I know you. You are not in a habit of telling anything less than the truth, and so I feel it only fair to give you the same. So, while you request no promises, I will freely give you one: to be as honest with you about my intentions as you are about yours regarding me.  
_ _I am not sure I know myself well enough to commit to a marriage, let alone an engagement at this time, but I hope to grow toward that with you. Whenever I think of the things I want in a partner in life, I think of your honesty, your goodness, your calmness, and your particular desire to make the world better.  
_ _You said that night on the porch at Miss Stacy’s that we make a good team. I want to be a team; I want to be a part of your team.  
_ _I know there will be times where it will not be easy, or where we feel at odds with each other, but I trust in our ability to work together to move through those, and to have many more times when finding the joy in each other is the easiest thing.  
_ _I hope this is a sufficient response, as I feel I have so much more to say even now, but the words are escaping me and instead, joyful tears are taking their place. When next we see each other, I very much hope I can properly express all that I feel. I am counting down the days until Christmas.  
_ _With all my love,  
_ _Anne_

* * *

_Dearest Anne,  
_ _I apologize for not responding to your second most recent letter. Things have gotten busy here, and I’ve been trying to make time, but all I can say is that I’m sorry. I will keep up letters when I can.  
_ _I got your most recent letter before I could write, and you’re not the only one who was left without words. I am trying very, very hard not to get ahead of myself. Instead, I am channelling my hopes and desires into doing what I can to make our shared dream come true.  
_ _That said, I too very much wish we could be together in person right now. Or rather, I always do, but now especially. I’m planning a three-day visit in three weeks during our mid-term break, and I am counting down the days. I do hope you will have found a few of the city’s nooks by then—I can’t really claim any familiarity with them. I have so much to talk with you about, and even if it isn’t terribly improper, it’s nothing anyone else needs to be involved with.  
_ _On that note, I should mention I sent word to Bash that we’re courting, as well as a letter to Marilla and Matthew declaring my intentions and promising to explain the situation when I see them next. I won’t argue if you’d like to put in a good word for me, but I know I’m the one who needs to convince them at the end of the day.  
_ _I look forward to seeing you more and more with every day. Until then, I send (as always)  
_ _All my love,  
_ _Gilbert_

Gilbert marked another day off in his planner. He hoped Anne would not be too cross with him for not responding more quickly, but he truly had been very busy, and it was getting more and more difficult to come up with sufficient words to describe what he felt for her.

Thankfully, Matthew (to Gilbert’s great surprise) and Bash had responded to his letters, Bash merely with the most gleeful “I was right all along!” and his sincere congratulations, and Matthew with his and Marilla’s thanks and permission, but also an agreement that they wanted to discuss the safety of Anne’s heart, “even though we know she is more capable than any of us of protecting herself”.

He sighed. Just a couple more weeks, and Anne would be in his arms again.

* * *

“Gilbert!” Anne waved from the train platform. Gilbert walked over to her as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. He took her hands and gazed into her eyes with a fond smile before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. He drew back just enough to murmur, “Have you found any of those promised nooks yet?”

Anne grinned. “For all that Miss Blackmore is a stickler for the rules, the garden next to her property is full of little secluded alcoves, and from what I have heard, people seem to respect the privacy of others well enough as long as there’s nothing _too_ untoward happening.”

“I suppose I’ll have to be just untoward enough, then,” Gilbert murmured as he took Anne’s arm.

Anne started, but laughed and squeezed Gilbert’s hand.

* * *

It had taken several minutes of wandering and careful-but-not-intrusive listening to find a bench that wasn’t occupied, but they’d managed it eventually. They’d just sat down and knit their hands together, when an all-too-near voice sounded.

“Anne! Fancy finding you here!”

Anne started, but didn’t draw away from Gilbert. If anything, she shifted their clutched hands to display them a little more prominently. “Hello Roy.” She turned to Gilbert with something of a forced smile. “Gilbert, this is Royal Gardner, one of my classmates. Roy, this is Gilbert Blythe, my beau.”

“A pleasure.” Roy extended his hand, forcing Gilbert to momentarily drop Anne’s as he stood to take it.

“Likewise,” was all Gilbert felt like saying back. Surely, Roy had to know what he was interrupting.

“I do apologize for intruding; I am taking the lovely Miss Pye on a walk, but she isn’t quite ready yet, and I heard Diana say that Anne’s beloved was visiting, so how could I not want to meet this much-vaunted young man?” Roy’s smile was congenial on the surface, but Anne was nervously running her thumb across Gilbert’s, having grabbed his hand not a second after Roy’s had been dropped. She seemed agitated at Roy’s presence specifically. “Would you like to tell Gilbert about the fascinating coincidence of acquaintance we’ve discovered, Anne, or shall I?”

Raw panic flashed through Anne’s eyes, though she managed to keep her smile from faltering. “Roy’s family is, as it turns out, sometime business connections of the Roses.”

Well. That explained things, at least somewhat. Gilbert didn’t believe Anne was threatened by the idea of Winifred; certainly not now. But Roy certainly had an angle, but was playing at it such that Anne’s only reasonable option was to politely disengage, rather than to smash him with a slate.

“Fascinating indeed.” Gilbert brushed his thumb very gently across Anne’s knuckles, trying to signal to her that he was not distressed or upset. He smiled just a bit as he felt the tension in her hand ease up.

“Winifred certainly painted a different picture of you than Anne did. It’s a wonder the two descriptions overlap in the same person!” Roy’s grin deepened to touch his eyes in a way neither Anne nor Gilbert liked. “I’ll be sure to convey your best to her when next we see each other, if that’s not too presumptuous.”

“If she’ll take my best wishes, then I will gladly give them,” Gilbert replied diplomatically. He looked beyond Roy. “I do believe Josie is looking for you.”

Roy cast a backward glance. “It would appear so.” He turned back to face them. “I am most pleased to have made your acquaintance, Mister Blythe. I hope you and Miss Shirley enjoy your afternoon.”

It took until Roy was out of sight for Anne to heave a sigh. Gilbert couldn’t exactly deny himself a quick deeper-than-normal exhale.

“I haven’t been hiding his existence from you on purpose, I promise you. He just makes me _very_ uneasy,” Anne explained.

Gilbert took both of her hands and gave them a quick kiss. “I wish you’d said something, but I don’t blame you. Every other word out of his mouth sounded like a veiled threat.” He looked Anne in the eye. “Just promise me you’ll let me know if he does anything more untoward than that. Tell Diana first, though. She is your fiercest protector, and more able to take immediate action than I.” He let out a breathy laugh. “A dressing down by her made your slate-bashing of me feel positively tame by comparison.”

Mercifully, Anne laughed, seeming to return more fully to herself. “I will let you know if anything happens, I promise.” She looked up at Gilbert. “But for this afternoon, I think we can safely focus on more pleasant things.”

“Oh?” Gilbert leaned in and kissed Anne softly. “Like this?”

“More like this.” Anne clasped her hands behind his neck and pulled him closer for a much deeper kiss. She smiled when Gilbert’s hands immediately went to her waist to pull her closer. When they finally parted, Anne said, just loud enough for Gilbert to hear, “I love you.”

As an answer, Gilbert gave her another long kiss before saying the words himself. “And I, you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy is not a serious romantic rival here, mostly because Anne and Gil have already been through the wringer on that one. That said, he’s also not out to wreck their relationship; just make them uncomfortable a little bit. In this story, he has affection for Winnie as something of a sibling, and, well, let’s be honest, Gil did kinda muck things up a bit there. Not to say Roy's right, but his motivation is understandable.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert has written Anne a letter not in response to any previous letter. Anne is written after a few weeks have passed, and not necessarily in response to his letter in this chapter.
> 
> This chapter is just basically pure romantic fluff.

Anne flicked open one of the letters Gilbert had pressed into her hands before he’d left. He’d made many promises to write when he could “but in advance of a very busy second half of the term, I thought ahead and wrote a few so you wouldn’t be waiting too long to hear from me.” The only possible reply Anne could g ive was to pull him in for a kiss entirely inappropriate for a young couple on a train platform. A nearby woman had cleared her throat loudly to separate them, though several other passengers had merely laughed and smiled fondly. One young woman only a few years Anne’s senior asked kindly when the wedding was, and, upon being told that they were not yet engaged, remarked simply, “With the way he looks at you, I suspect he’d eagerly marry you tomorrow wearing sackcloth if you were agreeable,” before walking away. 

She sighed fondly at the merely hours-old memory and began to read.

_My wonderful, amazing, lovely Anne,  
_ _I haven’t even departed for Charlottetown yet, but I know that by the time you read this letter, I will already be missing you most desperately on the train back to Toronto. I’ve dreamt of nothing but seeing you for the last week at least, thankfully not quite to the detriment of my schoolwork, but to the detriment of my mood somewhat.  
_ _To that end, I must admit that your thoughts of moving to Toronto when you have your teaching certificate, whether to further your education or to teach have been a source of comfort, but I want to make sure you are doing so because it will benefit you as much as it will benefit us. I won’t argue with your final decision, as I’m sure it will be well thought-out, but I am always willing to talk about it.  
_ _I know that I will see you at Christmas, and I hope to talk then about this and everything else, though I hope it won’t all be serious—I’ve been promised that Aunt Jo’s soiree will very much be a memorable experience, and after the last time we danced, I am hoping we will see fit to hold each other close, rather than running away.  
_ _But know, Anne, that if you do run, I will follow you. I will do anything to make sure that you are safe and happy, and I hope most ardently that you feel safe and happy with me.  
_ _I will close this letter as I have a few more I would like to write before I retire for the night, but, as ever, each comes with my increasing affection and  
_ _All my love,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

_Dearest, most beloved Gilbert,  
_ _I have managed to ration your letters, mostly by dint of you still sending one every other week addressing the previous two or three you have received in that time. I must prevail upon you not to feel like you must keep up with every little mention; I know my letters are read and loved. With you as a suitor—as my beau—I can’t not know.  
_ _I shall say that I have requested that Matthew and Marilla not give you too terrible a time when we are home for Christmas, and they have agreed. They were worried at first that, even though Marilla admits she saw your feelings for me long before you ever acknowledged them, we were moving too quickly off the heels of your breaking it off with Winifred, but after a few talks and many letters, they have been convinced that this is a normal courtship that just happened to begin after years of bottled up feelings.  
_ _My other piece of news should be welcome as well: Roy is steering clear of me and well and truly courting Josie. Josie seems to be following in Prissy Andrews’s steps as far as becoming a keen business mind goes, and for all Roy’s apparent distaste for you and me, he does genuinely seem to value what Josie offers both in terms of emotion and intelligence, and for that, I think we can all be grateful.  
_ _With just two weeks until I see you again (and fewer by the time you receive this, I’m sure), I am near bursting with excitement. Concentrating on my studies has been a bit burdensome, but I still hold out hope that someday, somehow, I will beat you fair and square.  
_ _With all my love and anticipation of seeing you soon,  
_ _Anne_

Gilbert had to laugh and quickly scrawled a response to leave at Green Gables, as he was scheduled to arrive the day before Anne. He hoped _It is my firmest belief that you surpassed me a long time ago, and it is I who aspire to best you_ would entertain her as much as it did him, though he also hoped it might provoke a playful argument in which the best kisser won. They’d both gotten quite good at getting the other to yield over his brief visit, but that was mostly because it was as much a pleasure to admit defeat as it was to be the victor. 

* * *

While seeing their families at Christmas had been wonderful, it was a bit of a relief to be back in Charlottetown where they could steal a few moments truly alone. Marilla had fussed when she’d seen Anne and Gilbert exchange a rather passionate kiss in the sitting room at Green Gables, but Bash had pointed out (and Matthew had backed him up) that they could hardly get up to anything too improper with the number of people in the next room. Still, Anne and Gilbert had limited their displays of affection while Marilla was around, finding that a couple of longer kisses during walks in the snow were warming enough to make the cold worth it. 

Gilbert seemed to enjoy Aunt Jo’s soiree well enough. Anne had filled Aunt Jo and Cole in on the details of what had happened, and had told them to be kind, so instead of frosty politeness, they had welcomed Gilbert warmly. Anne smiled as she watched Gilbert and Cole chat about their school experiences, comparing and contrasting art and medicine, with each finding the other fascinating. 

So much, so, in fact, that Cole very nearly had to bodily shove Gilbert at Anne when the dancing started before offering his own hand to Diana, who graciously accepted. 

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a month,” Gilbert whispered in Anne’s ear, “And yet my imagination still didn’t do it justice.”

“I’m hardly that good of a dancer,” Anne replied breathlessly. “You holding me like this has me so weak at the knees it’s a miracle I haven’t swooned, or at least stepped on your toes.”

Gilbert’s smile turned a little quizzical. “Do you need to sit? Is everything alright?”

“More than alright,” Anne assured him, resting her cheek against his for a moment. “I just… as much as I’m enjoying this, I wish we were alone right now.”

“Aha.” The slight mischief was back in Gilbert’s smile. “Well, I’m sure we can arrange for the walk back to take a more scenic route.”

Anne shivered excitedly. This felt incredibly dangerous, but in the most enjoyable way. And Gilbert was safe. And he was leaving for Toronto far too soon. Letters were all well and good, but the joys of kissing, of whispering sweet nothings, of just holding each other close, were so wonderful, and they had so little time for them. “Well, then, I think we’d best get going. I can break some rules, but curfew isn’t one of them.” 

Gilbert smoothly pulled Anne to his side so that she could take his arm. They said their quick goodbyes, citing that Gilbert had an early train ride—which he did—and needed to get back to his lodgings. Neither Cole nor Diana looked like they believed the excuse, and there was a bit of a twinkle in Aunt Jo’s eye as she told them to enjoy their evening.

* * *

They didn’t even need to take the scenic route home. Anne had made note of a few small areas on the property that were secluded enough after dark if they were quiet enough getting to them. Gilbert had agreed that finding one of those was probably the safest option, so they’d managed to sneak hand-in-hand right up to the house, just under one of the windows. 

It was Gilbert who turned to lean against the wall and pull Anne to him. Anne buried her hands in Gilbert’s jacket to keep him close before tentatively lifting one hand to play with the just-too-long hair at the back of his neck. How much of what happened next was deliberate curiosity versus raw passion would never be known, but Gilbert changed his angle just enough to gently suck on Anne’s bottom lip. Anne gasped with just the tiniest whimper and tightened her grip on Gilbert’s jacket, and in return, Gilbert pulled Anne as close as he possibly could. One of his hands was still on Anne’s waist, but the other had made its way up into her hair. 

It was when Gilbert’s tongue tentatively grazed hers that Anne pulled back with another gasp. 

At the same time, both of them started with “Sorry, I—” and then let out a breathless laugh. 

“I was just a little surprised,” Anne admitted.

“I got carried away,” Gilbert whispered back.

Anne’s smile was both shy and excited at the same time. “I didn’t mind it, truly. It’s just… very new. And rather more intimate-feeling than I was expecting. Silly, I know, since it’s still just kissing, but...” she trailed off, biting her lip. 

“ _Just_ kissing?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

Anne couldn’t keep from rolling her eyes fondly. “ It is categorically the same. Lips meeting to express affection and attraction. It has always fascinated me how that could possibly feel so joyous, so wonderful… and then a certain someone made me understand, even if I still can’t quite put it into words.” She stopped her musing, realizing Gilbert was looking at her in that way that said she was his whole world. 

“Just when I think your way with words could not get any more captivating, you use them to describe love.” Gilbert leaned his forehead against Anne’s. “I am the luckiest man.”

Anne briefly pressed her lips to Gilbert’s, then pulled to the side to press a soft kiss at the point where his jaw met his neck. Making a concentrated effort to refrain from making any noise as they were directly under the window, Gilbert pulled Anne back to his mouth for several long, knee-weakening kisses before Anne pulled back again. “Gil… Gil, pulling my flower crown out wrong can explain messy hair only so much.” 

“Well then...” Gilbert’s hand dropped just to Anne’s shoulder, then pulled her close enough to kiss her neck in the same spot Anne had kissed his, smiling when she shivered. “Still think the word ‘just’ applies to kissing?”

“I think I’d stand out here all night trying to figure that out with you if it wasn’t a frigid January night and I wouldn’t get in trouble for missing curfew,” Anne whispered back, her lips brushing against Gilbert’s. “As such, that will have to wait for a later date. Say… this summer?”

“I am already counting down the days.” Gilbert took one of Anne’s hands in his own and kissed it, pulling a bit of a face. Anne giggled at his strange expression, and then more when he explained, “I didn’t realize just how cold it was.”

Anne took his arm. “If my hair can be explained away, Mrs. Blackmore might be prevailed upon to let you stand by the fire a moment, as she has done with other, ah, suitors of Tillie’s.” Anne laughed. “I will not be permitted to join you, however, so we’d best say our more private good nights while we’re still out here.”

Gilbert gave her the softest of kisses. “ Good night, my lovely Anne.” 

“Good night, my amazing Gilbert.” Anne smiled, and they walked up to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, honestly? I feel like this isn't my best chapter. Chapters 6 through 9, I like a lot better. I feel like they're much higher quality. But hey, they can't all be winners.
> 
> EDIT: Okay, I should have been more clear--I don't like that I didn't really advance the plot (light as it may be; it's still there!) in this one. Kissing is wonderful, and y'all clearly want more, and believe me, you will get it! Thank you for the love!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is at this point that the letters kind of start showing where they are in relation to the events of the chapter and each other, so I won't be noting who's responding to what anymore unless it's really confusing.

Anne sighed. Easter was so close. But it wasn’t going to be easy this year—the anniversary of Mary’s passing had just occurred. Gilbert’s letters had grown slightly more distant and reflective, and if you read between the lines (and noticed a splotch or two on one letter where tears had very clearly fallen), he had drawn a few parallels revealing that, even with his career path, he was still grieving Mary, and in the back of his mind very much afraid of losing Anne as helplessly as Bash had Mary.

He’d shown up on the doorstep of Green Gables as soon as he could after returning to Avonlea. Anne had wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, both of them crying silently. Marilla hadn’t had the heart to ask them to behave more appropriately, because as far as she was concerned, this wasn’t a time for rules. She hadn’t protested when they’d left for the Blythe-Lacroix farm, either.

Bash had smiled sadly at the sight of the pair, and immediately handed Delphine to Anne, who cooed and babbled.

“Dellie,” Gilbert told her tenderly, “This is Anne, remember? You can say Anne, right?”

“An!” the little girl shrieked. “An An An An An...” she tugged at a loose lock of Anne’s hair before pointing at Gilbert and crying “Gibbur!”, and then waving her hand over Anne’s shoulder. “’Lie-jah!”

Anne turned around. Elijah was walking up from the plot, his hands in his pockets and his eyes swollen. He saw Anne and started a bit, but stopped a respectful distance away.

Anne tried to smile, and hoped it came out sincere. “You must be Elijah. I’m Anne.” She held out a hand, which Elijah took faintly and shook once.

“I’m sorry… You’ll have to forgive me for not being in a state to receive visitors,” he said quietly, starting to walk past, stopping after a few steps. “She loved you. You were like a sister, or a daughter. A friend. She needed that. Thank you.”

Anne clasped Delphine to her shoulder and buried her face in the toddler’s bonnet to stem the flow of tears as much as she could, though she knew she would shed more shortly as they had agreed to go visit Mary’s grave first thing. Gilbert wrapped his arm around her waist, and slowly, they made their way.

* * *

Matthew and Marilla had come to the farm later. It wasn’t a wake as such, but it was a group of friends reminiscing.

“...She told me to marry only for love,” Gilbert admitted. He’d told Bash and Anne the full story, but never the Cuthberts. He turned to Bash. “You two were well-suited that way.”

“And yet you still managed to almost completely mess it up,” Bash laughed.

“Yeah, well, I won’t be making that mistake again.” Gilbert looked straight at Anne, who smiled shyly and blushed.

Marilla raised an eyebrow. “Is there something you need to tell us? Or to ask Anne?”

Gilbert’s cheeks went as red as Anne’s as they both responded, “No!”

Bash laughed uproariously, and Gilbert clarified, “Not right now, anyway.”

Marilla tried to look stern, but she couldn’t hide a small smile at the implication that there was a “someday, though...” behind those words.

Anne raised her glass. “To Mary. May her wisdom and kindness guide us through all our days.”

It was a simple, sombre toast for Anne, but it was utterly sincere, and so everyone else raised their glasses, too.

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I am writing this the night before we are due to depart Avonlea for the last part of the term before summer.  
_ _I don’t think this time of year will ever not be tainted by Mary’s passing, but to surround ourselves with friends and family makes it bearable. We all learned so much from her, and truly, she is what saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life and her simple advice propels me to make the choices that will assure we are happy. My only regret is not seeing following it earlier, and just telling you how I felt before things got so horribly muddled.  
_ _I truly have no complaints about walking arm-in-arm or hand-in-hand, and certainly none about kissing the both of us breathless, but I am reminded that the vehicle that will keep our relationship happy and strong is communication; something we are certainly getting better at as time goes on.  
_ _Some of my fondest memories are truly the talks we had before leaving Avonlea. Studying together, debating the meaning of passages, uniting Avonlea behind a worthy cause as only you can… I value those just as much as the more romantic moments, and I want you to know that. If I am right (and I think I know you well enough to say I am), you return all the same sentiments. But, just to be sure I’m not assuming, perhaps you’d better confirm it for me?  
_ _That joke probably would have worked better in person, but I did want to add some levity to an otherwise fairly serious letter. I am rather tired, as Bash, Elijah, and I stayed up far too late talking, so we’ll see how this lands. I’ll just close this by, as always, expressing for you  
_ _My utmost love and adoration,  
_ _Gilbert_

Gilbert sighed and rubbed his eyes b efore he sealed the envelope. He was exhausted, but content enough, and he was glad to get to know Elijah more and more. He really had turned it around, it seemed.  It was great comfort knowing neither Bash nor Elijah were alone, especially now. He knew that this farm would always be open to him should he desire it, but he needed to talk with Bash about how Elijah figured into it. If he was truly working as hard as Bash had said with no expectation, surely it was worth cutting him in officially?

He didn’t like needing to make these decisions. The latter part of what should have been his childhood, or at least an easier transition into young adulthood, had been plagued with doing just that, though.

That was part of the reason Anne captivated him. She reminded him that there was a sense of wonder and awe to be found in everything; that life was to be lived rather than merely proceeded through.  She radiated energy and warmth and love, and he couldn’t believe his luck that she returned his feelings.

He’d felt silly bringing the ring back home with him, but he’d done it, and now, he took it out of its pouch and held it in his hands, a lump in his throat forming as he pictured it on Anne’s finger.

They still weren’t ready. Not yet. But God, he hoped that “someday” was going to come soon enough.

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _Your letters are the highlight of my day whenever I read them. Not just when I receive them, mind you! Re-reading them brings me joy and comfort and makes it feel like the distance between us is not so great. So, of course, I agree with treasuring words as much as romance, though I would submit that the two can overlap at times.  
_ _Will it hurt you if I say I treasure words more in some ways? I only mean that more can be said with them. Touches and kissing can certainly express deep passion, sympathy, and comfort, but that’s not enough_ _to make a marriage truly work. I hesitate to say I want to argue with you, but I enjoy spirited debate. I enjoy explaining things to you, and having you explain them to me. I even enjoy fumbling to find just the right thing to say, only to have it come out better than I’d ever imagined it would.  
_ _I,_ _too, wish we’d been able to be forthright earlier, but honestly, I can’t place any more blame on you than I must on myself. It was a hard-earned lesson, and I intend never to learn it that way again.  
_ _I love you, Gilbert. I hadn’t thought I would experience such a love and have it returned, but I am most profoundly grateful that I have, and I will let you know that at every opportunity.  
_ _I remain_  
_Forever yours and only yours,  
_ _Anne_

Anne let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she folded the letter. She longed to be able to hold Gilbert right now, but more than that, to speak the words that would make all the pain in their lives vanish and never return.

“Oh, Anne...” Diana walked over to Anne’s chair and embraced Anne’s shoulders.

“I just love him so much, Diana,” Anne gasped. “I’d do anything do make the pain he’s felt go away.”

“I think you do enough of that just by being in his life,” Diana said softly. “Even before either of you could say it, as tense as things were, you also managed to relax around each other. He always breathed easier when you were in sight. And soon, he will again. You’ll move to Toronto and you’ll write the happy ending you both deserve _together_.”

Anne took Diana’s hands. “You are the most wonderful bosom friend a lady could wish for. Thank you. I wish you all the same happiness.”

“Well...” Diana pushed her hair back from her shoulders. “There is a young man I’ve had my eye on...”

Anne laughed. “Diana Barry! You tease!” She swiped the tears from her eyes. “Tell me all about him!”


	6. Chapter 6

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _A mere twenty-two days until we see each other again! I will admit it’s been easier than I’d anticipated, as without you to bear some of the burden, I have become the go-to for all questions, and Ruby and Moody have especially been keeping me busy. (This is certainly less than helpful when it comes to arithmetic, though I’m holding my own in the more science-related disciplines far better than I’d expected. Still, I find myself looking around for you to ask for guidance from time to time.)  
_ _I’m so looking forward to being home again. Not only for the chance to see you, but to smell the Snow Queen from my window, to walk through the orchard, to see Marilla and Matthew and Bash and Dellie (and yes, even Jerry) again… I didn’t want to go_ _last harvest_ _, you know. I sobbed to Marilla that I didn’t want things to change. I suppose I’m glad one thing has changed this year,_ _even though I’m sure I will inevitably suffer through at least one lecture from Mrs. Lynde on proper courting_ _behaviour._ _As much as I would love to suggest scandalizing her by kissing in front of her, though, something tells me that will bring more trouble than it is worth.  
_ _I apologize for the brevity of this letter, but I am only just squeezing it in between study sessions. But rest assured that when we see each other again, I will be full of conversation for you about everything we can think of.  
_ _All my love,  
_ _Anne_

Anne hastily dried the ink on the letter before folding it and stuffing it into an envelope. As busy as she was, it was nice to sit back and think about Gilbert just enough to bolster her mood without being able to miss him too much. There would be ten days between their last final and when they vacated Blackmore for the summer, though, and that was going to be unbearable.

Diana had promised to take Anne shopping, and that she, Anne, and Cole would go to tea, but she was also spending more time with the young man—Fred—whom she’d told Anne about. Anne couldn’t begrudge her that; she’d spent a fair amount of time with Gilbert when he’d been in town, and pining over him when he wasn’t.

To that end, the occupants of the house comparing and contrasting beaus had become something of an amusing pastime, even if the girls teased Anne about how much time she’d spent trying to ignore her feelings for Gilbert. She’d told him about it in letter, and he’d written back this reaction had been a fond roll of his eyes and a sigh, saying it was bad enough to get it from Bash.

“Anne! I need your help sorting out this literature essay!” Ruby called.

Anne kissed the sealed envelope, as was becoming custom for her. “Coming!”

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I apologize that this letter will reach you only after finals. I know you’ll be nothing but understanding, but still, the guilt of not having planned better is there, so please, just let it be. It’s currently ten days until we see each other again. I considered counting the hours just to prove how desperately I’m missing you, especially without academics occupying quite so much of my time, though I’ll definitely have to study over the break to stay on top of things. Lucky for me, I have a rapt audience in Dellie. (And one in you, if you’ll have me, but I also want to hear your thoughts and not just lecture you dryly.)  
_ _Regarding the scandalization of Mrs. Lynde, the idea is actually quite appealing, but I suspect Marilla will bring down the hammer if we do that, so I propose we leave the scandalous behaviour to when we’re alone—and believe you me, I plan to create ample opportunity for that, as well.  
_ _One more year until you get your basic degree, and then we’ll be able to see each other more frequently. I’ve been chatting with Dr. Oak about how to transfer so you can more easily obtain your certificate, and she’s been most helpful in giving advice about when to apply and which grades to turn in where to make the best impression, though she also gave me a stern warning not to let your presence interrupt my studies. (She did sigh and say under her breath that she ought to write Miss Stacy and see how she handled it, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her she didn’t ever have the need.)  
_ _I look forward to seeing everyone at home, and it will be interesting to see how things change with our courtship. I fully expect we’ll be badgered about marriage enough to make us scream, but at least it will be a refreshing change of pace for those still used to us refusing to accept our feelings.  
_ _I eagerly await our arrival in Avonlea. I may not be able to refrain from calling on you on the way back to my farm, and I hope you’ll greet travel-weary me with as much enthusiasm as ever.  
_ _Yours most lovingly and longingly,  
_ _Gilbert_

Gilbert breathed deeply. Those few weeks together were so tantalizingly close, and yet so far away. He hadn’t given himself the time to think about it while preparing for exams, but now that they were over and all he needed to do was arrange things for when he returned, there was entirely too much time to think.

He pulled out the pouch with the ring and examined it. It wasn’t the right time. It wouldn’t be the right time so soon. It was selfish to want it to be, but he couldn’t help it. It would almost make things easier, even if it really changed nothing. Engagements could be broken. Marriages ended, or were unhappy. Theirs wouldn’t be; they wouldn’t let it. They were too stubborn. But they couldn’t not do it right.

So, for now, he would settle for imagining the ring on Anne’s hand, and treating her as though it was all a foregone conclusion, but making sure there was no pressure. There was just security, safety, and love.

* * *

“Where are you off to, Anne?” Marilla asked.

Anne decided that she was going to see just how much Marilla would allow if she told rather than asked. “Gilbert and I decided we were going to take a sunset stroll.”

Marilla gave her a look. “And who will be chaperoning?”

“It will be through the orchard. Bash and Elijah and Hazel will be out and about.”

“At this late hour?”

“Hazel and Bash say that the best time for harvesting honey is just before sunset, since the honey is warmest and flows easiest then, and Elijah and Hazel like to walk Dellie around before she goes to sleep.” It was all true, except for the implication that Anne and Gilbert were going to stick to the orchard. Still, walking through during the day was certainly a reminder that people would know if they were gone for too long, and Bash occasionally sent Dellie with them so that there was a small child to occupy them.

Marilla sighed. “I will allow it, but Anne, it is easy to… surrender to the passions of young love. I want you to be able to enjoy your time spent with Gilbert, and I know he would absolutely do the right thing if…” Marilla decided not to finish that sentence. “But I don’t want that to be necessary, and I don’t think either of you do, either. And as your… your mother, I just want you to be careful.”

Anne smiled softly and came over to kiss Marilla’s cheek. “Marilla, I promise you most earnestly that none of your worries will come to pass. But thank you for caring,” she added quietly.

Marilla grabbed Anne’s hand and squeezed it, her lips forming a smile. “Off with you, then. We’ll wait up for you.”

* * *

“Penny for your thoughts?” Gilbert offered. Anne had been unusually quiet.

Heaving a sigh, Anne lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. “Marilla gave me a motherly lecture before I left. She was, of course, far too worried about… things that won’t happen. All the same,” she finished wistfully, “it’s nice to have a mother who worries.”

Gilbert tightened his arm around Anne’s shoulder, and she put her head back down. He was quiet for a while before Anne prodded, “It is customary to reply with one’s own thoughts after asking for another’s, Gil.”

“I’m trying to figure out which part of that to address first,” he replied, sounding vaguely amused. “The implication that there’s a need to worry about us getting that carried away is certainly… interesting. As for being grateful having a mother who worries, it’s just hard to hear you talk like that. Not only because I’ve lost my own parents, but because I haven’t had to think about what life was like for you prior to Avonlea very often. I don’t like confronting that reality, because every time I do, there’s so much I want to change but will never be able to. All I can do is treat you properly, and I intend to keep doing just that, of course, but—” he stopped as Anne cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“Thank you for caring. It means more than I can say. There may be parts of my past we’ll need to confront, and I’m not looking forward to that, but the one thing I’ve learned is to face forward. Even when I can’t control anything else, I can control that.” Anne’s voice had started as a whisper, but it had grown in confidence, even as it shook just slightly. “I don’t like subjecting you to that pain, or knowing that there will be some pain I can’t keep you from, either, but life has shown us that it will happen. But more importantly, it has shown us that we will make it through by holding on to each other.”

For just a moment, it was that terrible early spring when they were all confronting being unable to do anything to save Mary. This time it was Gilbert who pulled Anne to him first, holding her as though the world might rip them apart at any moment.

“Before you say it,” he murmured in her ear. “I know you didn’t mean it quite so literally—” he couldn’t help a smile as Anne’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter “—but this is the license I can take, and right now, I am absolutely going to take it.”

“You’ll hear no complaint from me,” Anne assured him. “But you may hear one from Marilla if you get me back home too much later. The sun’s gone down.”

“Just one more minute,” Gilbert pleaded softly.

Anne could feel Gilbert smile into her hair when her only response was, “How about two?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's another batch of chapters up! Updates will probably be only single (maybe double) chapters from here on out, unless I write the remaining chapters in the next week.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! You guys make my day with those! (Especially the comments, I admit.)


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks had flown by. It was now less than a week before they would be leaving for school again. Anne and Gilbert were doing their best to avoid that reality, however. Marilla had  quickly come to accept their nightly walks with not even a raised eyebrow, though Rachel Lynde had started inexplicably glaring at Gilbert during Sunday services, and hauling Anne away whenever the two tried to talk  afterwards. Gilbert had  once asked what Rachel had said, and Anne had merely rolled her eyes and  said it was too ridiculously puritanical to be worth  any contemplation.  Bash had been little better with his admonishment that they ought not “do anything you wouldn’t want me to tell Miss Cuthbert I caught you in the middle of”,  though he no longer sent Dellie with them . 

Tonight, Anne stood in front of Gilbert and leaned back against him. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and his chin rested on her shoulder. Anne reached up to tousle Gilbert’s hair fondly, and Gilbert in turn pressed a lingering kiss to Anne’s neck just above her collar.  Anne bit down on her lip. “You are  _not_ being fair, Gil.”

“Fair?” He asked in a low voice, lips brushing her neck still.

“I am in no position to return the favour.”

Gilbert sighed and spun Anne around, smiling when her hands automatically clasped behind his neck. “I  was very much enjoying how you smell of apples and grass and hay and beeswax  from being in thee orchard all day , but, as you’ve insisted— ” He stopped as Anne leaned up to kiss the same spot on him as he had on her with just a little more exuberance than he had. “Alright, Anne, you’ve made your point,” he whispered playfully, but instead of trying to pull back, he tightened his arms around her.

Anne pulled back, trying to look annoyed, but smirking too much to make it work. They’d developed a little game of seeing who would stop first. The rule w as  unspoken, but simple: if the other person seemed at all uncomfortable, they would stop  everything immediately.

Anne leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to Gilbert’s mouth,  then stumbled back, remembering: “Ruby and Moody got engaged!”

Gilbert blinked.

Anne explained, “Diana hosted us for tea today, and Ruby told us that Moody proposed last night. They’re due to be married next spring,  after we graduate . It seems… odd, I admit, but they’re happy enough, and they’ll be done with school and returning to Avonlea. Moody is going to learn a trade, and Ruby  has already made a respectable amount embroidering little designs in things for the other girls at school. It’s something she enjoys.” She paused. “Josie… is also getting married. She and Roy will depart to London next summer just after they’re wed here. It seems Roy enjoys her keen mind and sharp wit.” Anne shook her head. “I’m excited for Ruby and Moody… and for Josie, I suppose, but it just seems so—so sudden. So early.”

Gilbert nodded. If anyone could testify to that, he could.

Anne continued. “It’s not that I don’t want to get married. I mean, there was a long time where I thought I wouldn’t, but that was before—anyway, there’s just so much I want to do. I want to become a teacher in my own right  before I get engaged; certainly before I get married.  I know… I know you’d never stand in the way of that. I know that as deeply and truly as I know myself.  But even so, this is what I’ve always wanted.”

Gilbert stared into Anne’s eyes, completely sincere with his own words. “I want to hold off on getting married until after medical school. I’m on track to be done in fi ve years, and sometimes, that seems impossibly long, but  I know it’ll be worth it. And then, we can move back closer to PEI… if that’s what you want, anyway.” He didn’t have to wait for Anne’s nod. “I just… wait here. I’ll be back.”

As soon as Anne let him go, Gilbert ran off to the house. He appeared not ten minutes later, having run the whole way, and very much looking like it.

Anne giggled nervously. “Gil, what’s this about? The last time you ran this much...” she didn’t finish the sentence. Gilbert pressed a pouch into her hand and closed her fingers around it.

“It’s yours. Keep it, and give it back when you’re ready.” Gilbert caught his breath slowly.

All Anne could hear was the blood rushing in her ears when she opened it up, and a ring fell out. She looked between it and Gilbert several times,  unable to say a word.

“I want this to be as much your decision as mine. I know… you’re not ready yet. And by virtue of that, neither am I. But when you are ready to move forward, I will be, too. I promise.”

Anne put the ring back into the pouch with shaking hands and tucked it into the small pouch on her belt before throwing her arms around Gilbert and kissing him again.  He caught her and whirled her around.  Anne pulled back just far enough to laugh, and Gilbert teased, “Still think we can say this is  _just kissing?”_

The only answer Anne gave was to kiss him again, and Gilbert was not about to complain.

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _This is a short letter as the beginning of term has been unexpectedly busy, but I felt it important to mention: When I said I’ll be ready when you are, I meant it. I don’t think you doubt that, but I want to be very clear. Even though neither of us are ready for marriage, I would absolutely be content with a long engagement. I’ve had time to think about it (and, dare I mention, two years’ more perspective, which is a blessing and a curse in this case). As I wrote a year ago, I know that you are the only one for me.  
_ _However, I will also reiterate that I do not want you to feel any manner of pressure. I know you’ll say as you did last year that that is where you want to wind up, as well, and so I confess to occasionally being frustrated when you know I would not stand in the way of what you want.  
_ _But then, I wind up angry_ _with myself. Your feelings are your own, and whether or not you can articulate the reasons behind them, I must honour them all the same, as you so rightly pointed out in that all-too-memorable Avonlea Gazette._ _(_ _I hope the fact that I keep a copy in a notebook gives you some comfort._ _)  
_ _I will write more next week, I promise. If I can’t, you will probably receive a very long, rambling letter of all the thoughts I wish to send you the week after—I tend to write these in my spare time, a few lines at a time, and every time, I think of how much I miss you, as I am now.  
_ _With love,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I have said before that you need not apologize for short letters, and I absolutely mean it. I won’t complain about longer letters, of course, but your education is important, and I believe our relationship is strong enough that a few weeks of brief letters is nowhere near enough to warrant me casting you aside.  
_ _Thank you for your honesty about your feelings. If it helps, I, too, am sometimes frustrated by my hesitancy. I have a few guesses as to why, but the ones not related to my relative youth are best kept for a much longer letter, or another visit. If you would me to expand, please let me know, and I will do my utmost to put it in a letter.  
_ _In any event, I want to make sure you know that I am not hurt by what you’ve said, and that you will know as soon as I am ready. I think about_ _it every day, and, little by little, my readiness increases. I don’t say that to tease you, or to lead you on; I just feel frustratingly more like a child than I’d hoped I would by this point in my life, and_ _to see my friends speaking of marriage only makes me feel more confused at times, especially when Ruby asks us for advice as though any of the rest of us know what we’re doing!  
_ _All of this is to say that I don’t know whether or not to tell you more about the future I long for with you. I do long for it, more deeply than I’ve longed for almost anything else. Someday, I will be ready, and the instant I know, you will, too, even if I have to throw rocks at your window in the middle of the night to wake you up—don’t think I wouldn’t!  
_ _I had best wrap up this letter for fear I will just repeat the same things over and over again, and give you nothing to respond to._  
_Yours and yours alone,  
_ _Anne_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, if y’all want a really sappy story, my husband did not give me an engagement ring (per my request). Instead, we bought our wedding rings and wore each other’s on necklaces until our wedding day because we are that freaking adorable. Everyone loved it.


	8. Chapter 8

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _As you have not been able to write the past two weeks, I am expecting the previously-mentioned rambling letter, and so I enclose one of my own, with the points in no particular order of importance.  
_ _The leaves on the trees have finally started to turn, and it is the most glorious thing to walk among them. I used to think of leaves as the hair of trees, and it is the only time of year I used to feel comfortable with my own red tresses. I do wish we could walk among them together.  
_ _Tillie is currently juggling three suitors. I do not know how she manages it, but it seems to work for her. The three gentlemen in question are also strangely accepting of the whole thing, and see each other as romantic rivals, but respectable ones all the same. I think they must be waiting until she shows one her favour, but I don’t know that she intends to.  
_ _I am currently taking a natural sciences class that is covering a wide range of topics—it reminds me of Miss Stacy’s lessons, and I miss her most terribly—I really ought to write her. Thankfully, I no longer need mathematics credit, and instead have chosen to take a class on formal logic... Woe is me! I didn’t realize it was going to be math all over again!  
_ _I have also written a few articles for the school newspaper, including a very scathing one about the horrendous treatment of the Mi’kmaq people, but alas, it was not printed. I did also submit it as an essay for a writing class, and the instructor wanted to know more. She thought it was a creative piece, and was utterly devastated when informed that it is not. I have found another ally!  
_ _Charlie found a kitten outside his boarding house, and he and the Pauls tried their best to hide it from the h_ _ousemaster_ _. They were caught out when they caught fleas, but it has apparently proved quite the mouser, so after a good bath (after which the boys also had a terrible many scratches each), it has been permitted to stay.  
_ _I hope these anecdotes provide you with amusement, but I also admit to a part of me hoping for assistance in my logic and science classes, as you were always stronger than I in those. But, even though you are somehow under the impression that we are no longer in competition, I assure you, we will never not be. (To that end, how do you spell the word for the property of a substance which only partially lets light shine through?)  
_ _I close, as always, by leaving you with  
_ _All my love and affection,  
_ _Anne_

Anne was a little worried. She hoped Gilbert had not fallen ill, though he would have written if he could, or would have instructed his housemates to. Anne had heard about Samuel and Jacob, and they knew of her, as well—Gilbert had mentioned being ribbed about stealing Anne away should she ever come to visit.

She hoped his next letter would explain.

* * *

Gilbert hurriedly signed the letter. Classes had been keeping him far busier than he’d expected with labs and practicals this term. He had every intention to make it up to Anne when next he saw her, though he would be unable to even at half-term. At least he would have time to write letters then, though. But for now, this would have to suffice.

_My dearest, most wonderful Anne,  
_ _Yes, even the salutation of this letter is meant to try and assuage your completely justified anger at my not having written, though I mean every word of it. I didn’t realize how busy labs and practicals would be! I won’t be able to visit at half-term, but I will take that week to write a dozen letters full of conversation and my love for you, and I hope that will be enough until Christmas. You’d best prepare to be stolen away as many times as possible then.  
_ _I don’t know that I could help you in a timely fashion with your work, though I wish I could, as it would give me more opportunity to talk with you (and just to twit you a bit about not yet beating me, as you insist the competition still stands). I can tell you, however, that formal logic was a class I, too, suffered through, and I don’t care to repeat it; you have my deepest sympathies.  
_ _I hope your articles on the injustices suffered by those you feel called to protect will see the public someday. Your impassioned defence can be nothing but convincing. Will you send me a copy so that I may read it and (with your permission) see if it might be broadly distributed here? Off the top of my head, Samuel knows a few law students who might like to see it.  
_ _You’ll be amused to know that Jacob managed to shatter a teacup the other day having lunch with his intended—yes, he proposed last month, and for whatever reason, she accepted! (I suppose this would be more amusing if you knew him, but someday, I hope I’ll be able to introduce you, and you’ll see what I mean.) He was animatedly discussing the particulars of some philosopher or another, brandished his empty cup, and into the wall it went! Mister Johnston was not at all pleased, but it has been paid back monetarily, at least. The embarrassment will likely p_ _ay out for_ _a few more months.  
_ _We had three students faint during practicals in mid-October. I did not, thankfully, though I suppose the lack of needles used in dissections is to my benefit in that regard. (I may have fainted when Dr. Ward was fixing Bash’s tooth that first winter he spent in Avonlea. I would appreciate it if you would keep that between us.)  
_ _Expect more letters soon. Half-term is upon us!  
_ _Yours forever,  
_ _Gilbert  
_ _P.S. I nearly forgot! T-R-A-N-S-L-U-C-E-N-T. No dictionary needed. Now, for yours: How do you spell the word for a secondary main character?_

* * *

“Anne! Diana!”

The girls strolled up to the teahouse arm-in-arm and kissed Cole on the cheek,  then hurried inside.

They chatted for a while about school, and the plans for Aunt Jo’s next soiree.

Anne was mostly quietly sipping her tea as Diana talked about Fred.

“And how’s Gilbert, Anne?” Cole asked.

Anne flushed. “I... um... He’s doing well. Just very busy with labs. You know, medical student life.” She fiddled with the cup some more. Diana and Cole leaned in. “We... He... When we were back in Avonlea, he... gave me a ring. Not as a proposal just yet!” she clarified as Cole and Diana both took in deep breaths as if to scream. “To give back to him. When I’m ready.”

“Anne...” Diana gasped.

Anne shook her head. “I’m just not ready yet. I want to become a teacher in my own right first, but I intend to move to Toronto after next harvest. I’ve been sending out letters, and have already gotten a few hopeful replies. I’d be teaching younger students at first, due to my age, but after a couple years, I’d get to teach the older students. At least with the younger students, I’ll have more time to write articles on the side—”

Cole interrupted. “Don’t sidestep, Anne! Was he heartbroken? What could you say to make that better?”

“That I will be ready in due course. That I grow readier with every day. That I want nothing more than to marry him when the time is right. What?” She gave Cole a look, as he was smiling impishly.

“I knew it. From the moment you two talked on the train platform while you were trying to save Miss Stacy...” Cole laughed delightedly.

“You didn’t see them at dance practice before county fair,” Diana told him. “I don’t think I’ve ever quite described that to you.” Diana launched into an explanation, to which Cole reacted at the appropriate places with gasps, laughs, and the occasional “No!”

“...Suffice it to say, it’s been quite the journey,” Diana finished.

Anne smiled. “And it’s only begun. Trust me, you’ll know when I have news. I won’t let him stew for long, I promise you that.”

Cole and Diana squeezed Anne’s hands, and the three of them stood to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word Gilbert asks Anne to spell is deuteragonist.


	9. Chapter 9

_Precious, most treasured Anne:_

_Merry Christmas!  
_ _I hope that by the time you unwrap this, I will have stolen you away for several long, snowy strolls that would send Mrs. Lynde into an apoplexy should word of them ever reach her.  
_ _My gift for you this year has nothing to do with that. But if you are as able as I think you will be, meet me an hour and a half before the Christmas panto. We can take the scenic walk there together. (And perhaps provoke Mrs. Lynde just a bit.)  
_ _I hope that this gift allows you to express your passion in the coming months. Unfortunately, most booksellers are not in the business of stocking five-hundred-page journals, or you would have received one.  
_ _I apologize for spoiling it a bit, but you must have known this is a book from the shape and feel.  
_ _I give this to you with my love,  
_ _Gilbert_

Anne quickly opened the brown-papered gift. The journal cover had flowers and a feather pressed into it. She hugged it to her chest and riffled through the pages, noticing some ink on the very first.

_Dearest Anne,  
_ _I am sorry for using up a precious page in your journal, but I just wanted to leave a little reminder_ _of my love for you here, as your passion and talent for words are but two of the many, many things I love about you. I hope you will see fit to share your writings with me, but this is merely a request and not a demand.  
_ _With all my love,  
_ _Gilbert_

Anne smiled, hoping Gilbert was appreciating the coincidence at the same time, just for a deliciously dramatic effect.

* * *

He was, as a matter of fact.

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I suppose this is a very “Anne” gift to give you, but if I am right, you will be as much in need of one as I to record your theories and discoveries. If not, well, I’m sure you can find some use for it yet. (Though please do inform me so that I might find something more worthy of the title “Christmas gift”.)  
_ _I do confess to hoping to find a sprig of mistletoe to surprise you with, but I won’t tell you when if I have not already by the time you open this gift.  
_ _With love and Christmas joy,  
_ _Anne_

Gilbert opened the package to find a leather-bound journal with graphing paper inside. Anne had not scrawled a note as he had in hers, not wanting to waste precious paper. She had, however, included a small packet of cookies she had made the day before, and that was treasure enough.

He looked at his watch and smiled. It was time to set out for Green Gables.

* * *

Anne had bounded down the steps to greet him. Marilla was trying to look stern, but had utterly failed, especially as Anne had dialed back her affection and merely kissed Gilbert on the cheek.

“We’ll see you at the panto!” called Marilla. The couple waved back and set off.

They were barely out of sight when Gilbert tugged Anne behind a tree. Anne, however, was ready and waiting, lifting her hand to dangle a sprig of mistletoe between them.

“Surpri—” Anne started to whisper before Gilbert’s mouth crashed into hers. Anne responded with equal enthusiasm, casting off the small plant and wrapping her arms around Gilbert instead.

When they finally parted several minutes later, they were gasping for breath. Gilbert leaned his forehead against Anne’s, trying to keep some warmth between them.

“Merry Christmas,” Anne whispered for the second time that day—their families had come together for a luncheon earlier.

“Merry Christmas,” Gilbert breathed back. “You look enchanting like this.”

“It’s twilight; just how well can you see me?” Anne asked.

Gilbert gave her a quick peck. “I know you well enough by now to know that your cheeks are rosy and your lips are just a bit swollen, and that when you look at me, you get lost in my eyes the same way I get lost in yours.”

“You missed your calling to take your degree in English.” Anne gave him a long kiss. Gilbert brought a hand up to cup her cheek and hold her there, not that she needed convincing.

When they drew apart again, Gilbert stooped to light the lantern, and offered Anne his arm. “We’d best start walking. There are a few more trees to visit yet.”

Anne laughed. “My, my, you’ve seen me every day this week, and you’re not tired of me yet?”

“Never,” Gilbert answered sincerely.

With another laugh, Anne admonished, “Keep looking at me like that and I might stumble!”

“Needing to get closer to you to help you hobble into town; what a hardship.” Gilbert rolled his eyes lovingly.

“You would allow me to be hurt in order to help me?” Anne gasped dramatically.

“Only if I needed an excuse in front of others,” Gilbert replied cheerfully. “And I suspect you’d be willing to fake one.”

Anne nodded. “You have the right of it.”

“Anne! Gilbert!” Ruby’s voice called from behind them.

“Should we pretend we don’t hear them?” Gilbert asked.

Anne sighed and elbowed him just a bit. “They’d be bound to catch up at some point.” She stopped and turned to wave, waiting for Ruby and Moody to catch up. The rest of the walk was looking to be less romantic than Anne liked (though the chatter wasn’t entirely unenjoyable), until Gilbert feigned something in his boot, and Anne insisted that Ruby and Moody walk ahead without them.

“Gilbert Blythe, this is not very nice of you,” Anne giggled.

“Oh isn’t it?” Gilbert took the lantern back from Anne. “I think it’s very nice, creating some time to ourselves when I’ve just had one busy term, and am in for another one. Thankfully, next year should allow me a bit more free time consistently. Enough to visit at half-terms, anyway.”

Anne took Gilbert’s arm in both hands and leaned her head against his shoulder as they continued slowly on. “I can’t say I’m not looking forward to that.” She sighed. “A few days is never enough, though. I’ll be excited when I’m finally in Toronto. It won’t be as simple or carefree as Avonlea school days, but at least it won’t be the torture of waiting weeks on end for a letter.”

Gilbert squeezed her hands. “I can’t quite say I know the torture of waiting for a letter for quite so long, but I don’t disagree.” He was quiet for several minutes as they continued walking and looked around at the snow on the trees. “I’m really looking forward to this, Anne.”

“The Christmas panto?”

“Well, yes, bothering Mrs. Lynde by sitting together and doing nothing improper otherwise is going to be great fun, but—” He looked down. Anne was grinning mischievously. She’d purposefully misunderstood. “Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, you are going to drive me mad.”

Looking extremely satisfied, Anne shot back, “And you, Gilbert Blythe, will still enjoy every minute of it.”

“Believe me, I know.” Gilbert swept Anne into a long kiss. When Anne finally pulled back to look into his eyes, they were sparkling with mischief. “But turnabout is fair play, and I intend to have you right there beside me the whole time.”

Anne leaned up for another quick peck. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waffling back and forth about whether or not to double space between paragraphs in the letters/notes, or whether to leave them entirely single spaced as I have been. I previewed this chapter with the double space, thinking it might look better, but I feel like it breaks up the flow of the letter text. Thought/opinions on whether it should stay as it is or change are welcome.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that will be relevant here and there later on: given that several of the kids say they are off to college, but Queen’s is only 2 years in duration in the books (and most of these kids are still 16 or 17 when they start there!) I’m going to say that for the purpose of this story, Queen’s grants the equivalent of an associate’s degree, so only 2 more years would be needed elsewhere to earn one’s bachelor degree. As for Gil... yeah, his medical school timeline is impossibly quick. I’m mostly banking on him doing his bachelor’s in 3 years and a research medicine degree in another 3, with the idea that he generally will not be practising on patients whether not he gets past his fear of needles. 
> 
> Weird. Probably impossible. Not okay. Yet, here we are!

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _Though I said so in person, I will say it again: I was so surprised to see you at the Queen’s certificate-granting ceremony last week! As much as I am a proponent of lauding the pursuit education of any level, my achievement seems to me to pale in comparison to what you will achieve (though I hope to earn my B.A. in time!). I am glad you were there, though—Tillie was most pleased that you were willing and able to assist in connecting her to leads at Toronto to advance her nursing aspiration.  
_ _As I will be assisting Ruby in preparing for her wedding, I will not be able to meet you all day tomorrow_ _until after the wedding ceremony, but even then, Ruby has deemed me her maid of honour for some unfathomable reason._ ~~_Why she wouldn’t choose a classic beauty like Dia_ ~~ _(I know you’ll scold me for writing that, but I didn’t want to waste paper.)_ _In any event, I will be required as a witness to register their marriage, so I won’t get a chance to talk with you until after the wedding luncheon, but I do hope to_ _steal some time with you later in the day, away from those who would pester us.  
_ _I do look forward to seeing you tomorrow, particularly as I know you will be in a suit, and I cannot deny finding you particularly handsome dressed thusly.  
_ _Until tomorrow,  
_ _Anne_

Anne had slid Gilbert the note when she had stopped by the Blythe-LaCroix farm to drop off bread from Marilla and collect honey yesterday. Gilbert had smiled and slid it into his pocket, but had said nothing, and Anne was wondering what must be going through his head, and what would be when he saw her today. Ruby had asked her mother to make Anne a lovely forest-green dress, though Anne had insisted she had something suitable to be a bridesmaid. In the end, the desires of the bride had won out (though Anne had insisted on paying for Mrs. Gillis’s time and materials), and Anne couldn’t deny that the finished product became her rather wonderfully.

“Oh Anne, look at you!” Ruby cooed as the other Avonlea girls—even on her wedding day, Ruby was still referring to them as girls!—fawned over her. She was a vision in white lace; her trousseau had been fully replenished since before they had left for Queen’s.

“Ruby, if there is any day not to have modesty, it is this one,” Anne told her. “You are the most resplendent bride. Moody is lucky to be gaining such a kind, devoted, beautiful, and talented wife.”

Ruby giggled, but it trailed off into a thoughtful face.

Diana was concerned. “What is it, Ruby? Do you feel unwell?”

“No, I...” Ruby sighed. “My mother took me aside early this morning and told me... what I might expect tonight. It was... rather more confusing than the talk Madame Leighton gave us after the Marianne Peters scandal, and rather more worrying.”

Anne winced. Marianne Peters had been in their (coincidentally all-female) French literature class, and had suddenly withdrawn, only for the news to circulate that she was unwed and with child. The teacher of the class—Madame Leighton (neé Dupont, she had keenly pointed out the first day of term when the students had laughed)—had taken it upon herself to inform the girls of the process by which a baby was conceived “so that if any young scoundrel tries to convince you nothing of substance will result, but that his affection will increase, you may laugh and demand to be sped to the altar first, if he is that eager”. She had made sure to note that relations between husband and wife ought to be pleasant and even exciting, but that they ought to remain just that: between husband and wife. 

Jane gasped. “What did she say?”

Ruby was now thoroughly upset. “She said it would hurt, and that I should... just think of pleasant things while he... and then wash myself afterwards. She didn’t even say why!”

“Oh Ruby, don’t cry!” Anne thrust a handkerchief at the bride. “Moody loves you. Surely he will want to... assure that it—that consummation is also nice for you! And if he doesn’t, I assure you, you need but let us know, and we will make sure he knows that you are to be treasured and loved in all ways and that harm to you will not be tolerated. And if—if you’re still scared...” Anne took a deep breath. “You can just refuse. Tell him you need time.”

Jane and Tillie gasped scandalously, but Diana cut in smoothly. “Anne’s right, Ruby. This is Moody. He is the most tender young man any of us know, and, though I might catch Anne’s ire for it, I absolutely include Gilbert Blythe in that statement.” She flashed a look at Anne, who shrugged, causing Ruby to giggle and Jane and Tillie to guffaw outright. “He is promising to love, honour, and cherish you, and that means respecting that this will be new and perhaps frightening. And who knows—” Diana wiggled her brows “—perhaps men find it just as frightening!”

That sent all the young ladies into hysterical fits of laughter until they were breathless. Diana, Tillie, and Jane filed out, but Ruby asked Anne to stay behind.

“I didn’t want to ask in front of the others, since I didn’t want to cause embarrassment, but are you _sure_ Gilbert hasn’t discussed any of this with you? He is training to be a doctor, I mean, so he must know _something_...” Ruby trailed off again.

Anne turned bright red. “He most certainly has not, and even if he had imparted any knowledge, I doubt that doctors learn how to increase a woman’s pleasure. That hardly seems respectable!” She took a calming breath and continued, “If I knew the answers, Ruby, I would assure that you knew them, too. It’s not fair that women so often go into this not knowing what to expect beyond vague metaphors and terrifying warnings of insatiable husbands or cold beds! It is my deepest wish for you on this day that your marriage be full of love and warmth and _respect_.”

Ruby threw her arms around Anne. “Anne, you are a treasure. I can only hope that when you and Gilbert are married, it is just as wonderful as you hope my marriage will be.”

Anne smiled and hugged Ruby back. “Now, come, let me get your train. It is time for you, Ruby, to greet a most wondrous destiny!”

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I was hoping to have something of more substance to say to you, but I was (as you and probably the entire church and certainly Mrs. Lynde noticed) unable to take my eyes off you today. You were positively jubilant for Ruby and I couldn’t help but imagine... well, you know.  
_ _Diana apologized to me after the service for slandering me in the service of helping calm Ruby’s nerves, but there was mischief in her eyes when she said you agreed, though she would not tell me what about. Perhaps, when we talk tomorrow, you will see fit to inform me? I intend to find out one way or another, but I’d much rather it be by kissing you senseless than begging Diana, as I know she will not yield.  
_ _I will be glad that tomorrow, we can stroll through the orchard hand-in-hand as usual. As stunning as you were today, I do appreciate your everyday beauty, as well.  
_ _I will call on you tomorrow after lunch. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.  
_ _Until tomorrow,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

As soon as they were out of hearing of Green Gables the next day, Anne confessed. “Diana said that Moody was the most tender young man we knew—even more than you. And Ruby was so scared that I... I had no choice but to agree! It’s not that you are not tender or loving, but I feel like that’s really only something you show very few people and...”

Gilbert was laughing. “That’s all? Diana made it sound so much worse!” He pulled Anne’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Not that there’s anything to forgive, but if I’m correct, you feel you need it, and so, I am granting you forgiveness for slinging mud on my good name.” As they continued walking, he asked, “What was Ruby afraid of?”

Anne bit her lip for a second, but quickly explained, “I don’t think she’d really thought much about what marriage would entail beyond love and the everyday... And so much is put on women to be the perfect bride... We just needed to assure her that Moody wouldn’t change into a monster overnight.”

Gilbert scoffed. “I don’t think he’s capable of being a monster.”

“Me neither, but apparently weddings put strange thoughts in people’s heads,” Anne replied, glad that she’d covered it well. She knew that Gilbert would be nothing but professional if she’d given more detail, but Anne wasn’t quite yet ready to discuss that aspect of marriage with him, and honestly, it would be a breach of Ruby’s confidence to have explained further.

Relieved that they’d gotten past that part of the conversation, Anne relaxed, feeling much more able to enjoy the afternoon with her own beloved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I am a proponent of safe, consensual sex no matter your marital status. In 1900s Charlottetown, however, I feel like even those who would say women should be given more comprehensive sex-ed would still say to limit sex to marriage. Basically, I tried to be as progressive as I could while sticking to period-typical attitudes about sex.
> 
> And yes, Ruby asked Anne to be her maid of honor pretty solely so she could pull Anne aside and ask for insight. It wasn't a bad idea; it just didn't pan out as she'd hoped.


	11. Chapter 11

“And I thought sending you off to Queen’s was difficult,” Marilla sniffled. Matthew was looking shattered, and even Jerry had been downcast driving them to the train station.

“It’s not that I want to be so far apart from you; it’s that this is an opportunity I must take,” Anne told her for the millionth time through tears. “I will write every day, and I will come back after every term.”

Marilla and Matthew embraced Anne, who clutched at them both for a long moment. When she was released, Marilla turned to Gilbert. “This isn’t like when Anne was off to Nova Scotia. This is a much longer journey, and as a responsible young man who has taken it before, I charge you with watching over Anne.”

“Marilla!” Anne protested, half-angry and half-laughing. “If anything, I am more capable of looking out for myself than I was then!”

“Believe me, Miss Cuthbert,” Gilbert said as if Anne had not spoken, earning him a hard nudge in the ribs, “I take that duty very seriously.”

“I’m sure you do,” Bash laughed. “I’d be much more worried that they’ll get up to trouble together, Marilla.”

Anne had never seen Gilbert flush so completely. Marilla was certainly shocked, though Matthew was trying to hide laughter. “That will be _quite_ enough, Sebastian,” Gilbert hissed through clenched teeth.

Bash rolled his eyes. “Just take a last look at this little cherub and remember all the trouble where she’s not been this cute.”

Gilbert shot Bash a death glare, but took Delphine for a moment. “Bye, Dellie! You’ll grow so much while I’m gone—you’ll be speaking full sentences before I come back next, I’m sure.”

Delphine giggled. “Bye bye, Uncle Gilber’!”

Anne kissed Delphine’s cheek before Gilbert handed the little girl back. Delphine gave her a slobbery kiss of her own and a “Bye bye, Anne!”, and Anne laughed through her tears as they boarded the train.

* * *

“Wake up, Anne; we’re here.”

Anne blinked, smiling at Gilbert’s voice in her ear. She had fallen asleep against his shoulder, and it was as though...

Oh. They were in Toronto.

They’d talked late into last night about Anne’s fears and hopes. Gilbert had promised they’d get Anne to her lodgings first, but it was more than just that. She could no longer just go home on a weekend. Marilla and Matthew and Jerry and Diana and everyone else may as well be a world away. But the worst part was that this didn’t feel like a mistake.

“I know I’ll be back someday, and so the distance feels bearable, but I feel like... I should want to run right back and just stay at Green Gables forever,” Anne had sobbed as Gilbert had run a hand across her hair, trying to soothe her.

“Here.” Gilbert handed her a folded square of paper. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of borrowing your fountain pen again, but I thought perhaps something familiar from me, even though I’ll be close, would make you feel more at home along with the rest of your things.”

Anne smiled. “Thank you.” She tucked it into her carpetbag. “Well.” She took a deep breath as Gilbert squeezed her hand. “Time to write a new chapter.”

* * *

The owner of the lodgings Anne was renting from was already turning out to be less strict than Mrs. Blackmore, and Anne had barely been there ten minutes. Mrs. Hodges was a wealthy widow of about Marilla’s age who just wanted someone to talk to when she was in town, and someone to keep an eye on the house when she wasn’t. (“I love taking my little excursions. I never saw the point of a massive house when I’d be in it perhaps half the year.”) She expressed interest in meeting Gilbert, but didn’t seem terribly concerned about making sure the young couple was closely chaperoned, reasoning that "Teachers have a standard to uphold. You won’t get up to too much mischief, I’m sure; you seem like a proper young lady.”

The woman’s jovial openness about it all somehow made Anne all the more inclined to behave properly, even with the tantalizing prospect of having a place to be alone with her beau for much longer than either Charlottetown or Avonlea would afford them.

Anne had set up her room and set about writing a letter to Marilla and Matthew, and another to Miss Stacy, before she unfolded the note Gilbert had given her. Even as she read it, she had to laugh.

_Dearest Anne,  
_ _To bring a little bit of home to Toronto, I propose an exchange of notes wherein we define words and give the number of letters, and the other must spell them. Of course, a theme is a must.  
_ _For this note, “Things I love about Anne Shirley-Cuthbert”:  
_ _An oft-used descriptor of your nature, expressing your intense feelings (10 letters):  
_ _Of keen wit; no better way to put it than “just plain smart” (11 letters):  
_ _A feeling of needing to explore and know more about the world (9 letters):  
_ _An emotion you often exhibit, and often make me feel (3 letters):  
_ _Bonus: What you use to express yourself; my second-favourite part of you to kiss (4 words):  
_ _I await your answers.  
_ _With eager affection,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

_My dear Gilbert,  
_ _If it is a challenge you want, it is a challenge you shall get!  
_ _An oft-used descriptor of my nature, expressing my intense feelings (10 letters):_ _passionate  
_ _Of keen wit; no better way to put it than “just plain smart” (11 letters): intelligence  
_ _A feeling of needing to explore and know more about the world (9 letters): curiosity  
_ _An emotion I often exhibit, and often make you_ _feel (3 letters):_ _joy  
_ _Bonus:_ _What you use to express yourself; your second-favourite part of me to kiss (4 words): lips_

_I suppose my theme must therefore be “Things I love about Gilbert Blythe”:  
_ _Your favourite curiosity-sating activity. Often reading, but may be recitation or note-taking (5 letters):  
_ _The effort and desire you have to become who you want to be (10 letters):  
_ _The quality that makes even people who don’t know you think well of you; a bracelet adornment (5 letters):  
_ _What I think you are for mentioning that you have a second-favourite place to kiss, let alone a first! (7 letters):  
_ _Bonus: The part of you that I could gaze into forever (4 letters):  
_ _I look forward to gleefully correcting your answers, or joyfully reading the right ones—either is a winning proposition in my view._  
_With love,  
_ _Anne_

Gilbert chuckled fondly. Anne wasn’t holding back. Good; she shouldn’t.

He uncapped his pen and began his own reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The answers to Anne’s words for Gilbert are (in order) study, dedication, charm, forward, eyes. He, of course, got all the answers right, and had particularly warm thoughts about Anne calling him charming.  
> Oh, and the most favourite part to kiss, given that lips are a second favourite? You know that spot right under your ear? Yeah, that’s the one. Mostly because in this story, Anne is ticklish there, and so is Gilbert, and they have engaged in seeing who can go without laughing the longest several times because makeout games are fun like that. This won’t necessarily show up in the story proper, but I thought it was a fun tidbit to leave in a note.  
> One final note this chapter: The rest of this has been written, and I intend to release one chapter a day through Christmas, though social obligations may cause me to skip a day and double up the day before or the day after.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle reminder as we head into this chapter: this work is rated T and will remain so. Not that this chapter gets at all raunchy, but it does mark a turning point to the oh-so-slightly less innocent.

The school year had started. Anne was enjoying teaching younger children more than she had expected. “They have an openness and eagerness that is so different to  that of older children! They are also a little easier to control,” she had admitted with a laugh to Mrs. Hodges and Gilbert one night. 

Gilbert was indeed not quite as busy as the previous year, leaving him with a couple spare hours each weekend. He invited Anne to meet Samuel and their new housemate Martin, as well as the visiting Jacob. Martin was Anne’s age, and was quiet and studious. Samuel was clearly the chatterbox of the group, and Jacob was utterly devoted to philosophy and his fiance é , Sarah.  Anne enjoyed herself and got along well with Samuel and Jacob, as Gilbert had predicted. Also as predicted, Samuel had made one cheeky joke about stealing Anne away, but clearly respected them and would never actually try.

The notes also continued, with new themes. The natural world, Toronto’s many sights, memories of Avonlea, Pride and Prejudice (on Anne’s insistence), H.G. Wells’s writings (on Gilbert’s insistence), and a few more on the things they noticed and admired about each other.

* * *

Mrs. Hodges took a week-long trip about a month into the term. Feeling bold, Anne had let Gilbert know, and invited him for a Saturday afternoon. The smile he’d given her had nearly been enough to make her swoon, and his intensely sincere “I wouldn’t miss it” had her heart waltzing in double time.

Anne had made scones and had made sure to cook some potatoes and carrots for dinner and was just about to take off her apron when Gilbert’s polite knock sounded. She opened the door and beckoned him in, nervous and excited.

He’d taken a scone and leaned easily against the kitchen counter as Anne worked on the dishes, taking no help from him as she suddenly felt the need to keep her hands busy, only relenting and letting him dry when he pointed out he could not in good conscience let her do all the work.

Anne was feeling much more at ease once they’d started in on a conversation about the merits of various jams, with Anne preferring blackberry for its tartness and Gilbert preferring strawberry for its warm color.

“I’m not convinced this isn’t about my hair!” Anne insisted laughingly.

“And if it is?” Gilbert’s eyes were dancing merrily. “Is there really any harm?”

“I suppose not,” admitted Anne. “Perhaps I should just take it as a compliment.”

Gilbert put his hands on either side of Anne’s waist. “That you’re as sweet and wonderful as strawberries? Most definitely.” He leaned down slowly, almost as if waiting for Anne to tell him not to kiss her, but her preference was made crystal clear when she put her hands on his cheeks to pull him to her.

After a moment, Anne drew away with a laughing gasp that turned into a panicked look.

Gilbert immediately grabbed her hands. “Anne! Is everything alright?” He searched her face and was trying to figure out if he should take her pulse or something when a tell-tale blush began to bloom on her cheeks.

“It’s not—I’m fine. I’m just... ticklish, apparently,” she muttered, not looking at him.

Gilbert went from worried to confused in an instant. “Ticklish?”

Anne crossed her arms. “My sides.”

“And how has this never been a problem before?”

Anne fully turned her head away. “I... am usually wearing a corset. However, as it is the weekend and I am under no obligation to be societally presentable...”

“Aha.” Gilbert was digesting this new information.

“You mean to say you didn’t notice?” asked Anne, feeling emboldened by a lack of clearly negative feelings about the situation.

Gilbert shrugged. “Something felt and looked a little different, now that I really think about it, but really, I... try not to think about it too much. It’s not really an option right now.”

Anne’s heart continued thudding in her chest and ears out of sheer nerves. “What, exactly, is not really an option?”

Gilbert Blythe was apparently the sort of person blessed with not blushing terribly much, but the colour in his cheeks had definitely gone ros ier than normal . “Getting carried away.”

Anne sat on the couch, and gestured for him to sit next to her, which he did, taking her hands gently.

Gilbert sighed. “It’s a long time until marriage, and I don’t... there are certain risks I don’t want to take, no matter how much joy or pleasure they might be worth. But, at the same time, there's a lot of gray area that would be considered unacceptable between unmarried couples but that also doesn't present those dangers, and I can't deny finding the idea intriguing.”

“Ah.” Anne’s throat was dry. She cleared it, and chose her words very carefully, surrendering to the inevitable blush. “I should... perhaps mention that, my second year at Queen’s, there was a girl... she became with child and left mid-way through the year. I had a teacher who... thought it best to explain to us girls the process by which that occurs, so as to allow us to make fully informed decisions in regards to potentially pushy suitors. Not that I feel pushed by you of course! But while it is equal parts thrilling and horrifying to have had that particular veil of insight lifted, that means...” She hadn’t really thought about it up until now. “That means that I can better decide how comfortable I am with actions outside of that.”

“I see.” Gilbert mulled this new tidbit over for several minutes, absently rubbing his thumbs along the back of Anne’s hands.

Unable to take the silence, Anne broke in, “I'm sure you still know more than me, and that you're more comfortable with the subject—” Anne was amazed that only her cheeks felt flushed; normally, she’d be red from chin to hairline. “—but you should know I am aware of the mechanics, more or less, and I will always tell you if you're being too forward as long as you agree to the same.”

"So, if I don't agree, we'll never stop?" Gil bert ask ed joking and flirtatious  at the same time .  Anne groan ed and burie d her face in her hands. A s she hadn’t let go of his, Gilbert drew hers back to him and kissed them. “We’ll take it slowly. And if either of us says stop, it stops.”

Smiling,  Anne  nodded and lean ed in to kiss Gil bert , and for the moment, everything else just spira l led away.

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I am taking a break from grading mathematics assignments, so this will be a short note. I just wanted to say, even though I try to express it all the time—  
_ _I love you. You are a wonderful man, and I am excited to keep talking and laughing and holding your hand... and yes, kissing you with everything I’ve got.  
_ _I close with the expression that I am,  
_ _Most devotedly yours,  
_ _Anne_

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I am dashing a quick note as I eat lunch between classes.  
_ _You are the most wonderful woman, and I adore and love you more than I can ever say, but honour demands I try.  
_ _Every moment with you is a treasure—every word, every laugh, every touch, every kiss... It’s all so much more amazing than I’d thought it could be.  
_ _(Pardon the mustard stain—my elbow was jostled as I was attempting to think of a way to close.)  
_ _With all my love and devotion,  
_ _Gilbert_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, that was not a cut-to-black for explicitness; that was a "we're going to continue making out--do you really want to read that for another 8 chapters?" (I mean, there's still more kissing to come, but there's other good stuff, too!)
> 
> Also, surprise! Anne's just straight-up ticklish; not just in that one spot!


	13. Chapter 13

Spring had come to Toronto slowly, but surely.

Anne sat at the table in Mrs. Hodges’s sitting room, grading fractions and spelling tests while Gilbert studied for his midterms.

Mrs. Hodges had poked her head in a few times to offer them tea, shaking her head after the most recent instance and murmuring “This, Mabel Hodges, is what you get for assuming redheads will be nonstop excitement.” She clapped her hands to get the couple’s attention. “Children, in precisely an hour, you are taking a break, and I am teaching you  to play skat. It is far too dull around here, and surely, as a teacher, Anne must know that a little bit of fun helps learning to stick!”

Gilbert had flashed her a look after Mrs. Hodges had gone out  into the kitchen. “You’re being described as anything other than nonstop excitement? Has she met you?”

“Gilbert Blythe, you know perfectly well that even my vivaciousness takes occasional pauses,” Anne told him, not looking up from the paper she was currently marking until she’d finished. Gilbert was smiling at her the same way he always did: with a mixture of joy and pride, and hints of mischief and teasing. It still made her heart flutter, and she wasn’t sure what all he saw in her smile, but his always lit up just a bit more after seeing it.

“If you two are going to take a staring break, we may as well play now.” Mrs. Hodges whisked in with a deck of cards.

Anne cleared her papers from the table. “Will this be another one of those games where you teach me just so that you have someone to win against every time, Mrs. Hodges?” she teased.

Mrs. Hodges grinned. “I hope not. Someday, I want to feel the sting of loss!”  She inclined her head at Gilbert. “Perhaps your beau will give me the competition I so crave!”

The three of them laughed, and Mrs. Hodges began to teach them.

* * *

“Remind me to play skat with Mrs. Hodges before all my exams,” Gilbert told her as they relaxed on the sofa in the sitting room of his lodgings the following Sunday afternoon. The others had all left for home for the midterm break, as they lived much closer.

“You did well, then?” Anne asked.

Gilbert nodded. “Decent marks. Enough to keep my scholarship and keep moving at an accelerated pace.” He ran his thumb absently across Anne’s knuckles. “It still doesn’t seem real. I’ve been here almost three years, and I’m sure it would take me weeks to spout off half of what I’ve learned, but there’s so much more... I honestly don’t know how I’ll learn it all before I graduate.”

“Well...” Anne turned to face him, ticking off the points on Gilbert’s fingers. “You are very, very bright. You are a hard worker. And with research, you can’t ever expect to know everything. You’ll be learning and discovering every day. And I look forward to hearing about it. As we eat dinner, when we sit in front of the fire, when we go on walks...” Anne trailed off, suddenly misty-eyed. “Sorry.” She sniffled and wiped her sleeve across her eyes. “I just realized how much I’m looking forward to that. To those everyday, little moments.” Her eyes were still shining. “I love you so much.”

Gilbert lifted a hand to wipe the tears from Anne’s face. “I love you, too.” He leaned in to first kiss Anne’s forehead, then her hands, and then, oh-so-gently, her lips. “And I look forward to that future just as much as you do.”

Anne sighed. “I hope I can be the wife you deserve.”

“You will be. I’ve never doubted that. Even when you said all those years ago that you’d make a terrible wife—” Gilbert paused as Anne laughed. “—I think what you meant was that no man would be the husband you needed.”

“I’m still not convinced you know entirely what you’re in for,” Anne teased.

“And that will be half the fun,” Gilbert promised.

Anne placed a hand on his cheek, drawing Gilbert  down so she could kiss him. “ I would say,” she said between kisses, “That you don’t know... how charming you are... but it’s the exact opposite, isn’t it?”

Gilbert drew back just far enough that his lips still brushed against Anne’s when he spoke.  “Yep.”

“And I’ve no hope of becoming immune.” It was not a question in the least.

“None whatsoever,” Gilbert agreed. “But if it’s escaped your notice, you have an equally profound effect on me.”

“I’d guessed something of the sort,” Anne admitted. “But it’s nice to hear you finally admit it in so many words.”

“Ah, well, remind me to tell you more often.” Gilbert wrapped her in warm hug that made Anne feel as though nothing could ever go wrong again. As she put her arms around him, she felt him relax—almost melt—into her own embrace, and she realized that he was still saying it; just not aloud. Her emotions welled up, and tears started to form again, but for the moment, she was content to stay as they were.

* * *

_My darling Anne,  
_ _Remind me to hold you like that more often. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I remember seeing Bash holding Mary like that once or twice, but it felt far too intimate to bear watching. (It didn’t help, I’m sure, that at the time I was very much denying my growing feelings for you.) I’ve nearly always felt warm and content and perfectly correct with you, but that moment was truly like nothing else. Every time I think we couldn’t feel more right, something like this happens.  
_ _I am glad I was done with my midterms by that point, though—I am quite sure I would have been unable to concentrate for longing to hold you instead of a pen!  
_ _Similarly, I am grateful that you’re close enough that this is a regular occurrence. I thought waiting weeks to kiss you again was arduous. It was, but I’m not sure I would survive the same number of weeks unable to feel your arms around me and feel you in mine.  
_ _I’m sure that you’re laughing to yourself and thinking I’m waxing poetic, and perhaps I am, but I want you to know how you make me feel.  
_ _Complete. You, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, make me feel complete. I worry that you will dislike the notion, as you are very much your own, whole person, and would insist I am no different. (Though I suspect, based on your reading tastes, that the idea is at least appealing as it might be repulsive.) So let me clarify that_ _it’s not that I need you in order to feel like myself; it’s that being with you makes me more than I am on my own, and that, I think, is as it should be.  
_ _I look forward to your reply, whether it contains rebuttal (which I don’t doubt would find a much better way to describe these feelings) or agreement, or both.  
_ _All of my love and devotion,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

_My most wonderful Gilbert,  
_ _I have already ruined two sheets of paper with tears, and Mrs. Hodges is teasing me mercilessly about being a maudlin mess over “a fine young man, to be sure, but my goodness, this is truly something else.” Go on—laugh; I know I did. (Though I would submit you are far more than just a fine young man.)  
_ _My reply is not one of rebuttal. It is one of complete agreement, mixed with a little annoyance at not being the one to put it thus first.  
_ _Yes, my love, I feel complete and whole and something more than myself when I am with you. Even when we’re sitting in the same room engaged in different activities, or when we are pitted against each other in competition, and, strangely, even the few times we have quarrelled, there’s this feeling. It’s similar, I think, to how I feel about Matthew and Marilla, and even a little the same as my affection for Diana, but of course, romance certainly adds a new dimension!  
_ _The only thing I can find to be upset about is nothing new: that we did not acknowledge our feelings sooner. I didn’t know what I was missing, and now that I do, I cannot help but feel vexed with my self from those few short years ago.  
_ _So, I suppose, my only possible course of action is to make up for lost time and hold you as often and as long as possible, and tell you as many times as I can how much and all the ways I love you._  
_Devotedly and completely yours,  
_ _Anne_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted Mrs. Hodges to teach them pinochle, as that is my game of choice, but it’s unclear how far back its history extends. Skat is thought to be linked to the game, and definitely existed in the late 1800s, so it works.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place the Christmas following the last chapter, so about 8 months later—as usual, the timeskips pick up more toward the latter third of my stories. It’s a flaw of mine. Though, to be fair, I had this story mapped out, and then I realized Gil needed at least one more year to make his graduation from medical school even remotely plausible, and I’m already messing with that timeline enough as is!

Gilbert had just gotten back to his room. Martin had given him an oddly smug smirk on the way, but Gilbert was in too high of spirits to care, as he and Anne were headed back to Avonlea the following day.

There was something on his bed. He lifted the note, immediately recognizing the handwriting.

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _You will be perhaps a little irked when you realize I called but did not so much as wait to say hello. However, I have dropped in when I know you are out, as I am unable to contain my emotions right now. If you will please look where this note has been laid, I think you will understand why.  
_ _All my love,  
_ _Anne_

Gilbert immediately dropped his hand to his side. There, nestled in the blanket, was a familiar pouch. His lips curved into a slow smile.

* * *

Anne was returning from a most enjoyable afternoon tea at Diana’s. Ruby had confided that she was with child, due in late spring. Jane had chattered about her new beau, who was in finance and was keen on creating business ties with her family. Tillie had chosen to study nursing a little closer to home after all, as her mother’s health had become somewhat frail just before Tillie had been set to go to Toronto, but she still had her fair share of eligible young men after her. Diana revealed that she and Fred were engaged, due to be married early next summer. Even with a relative lack of exciting romantic news, the girls were still keen to hear about Anne’s life in Toronto, with Diana promising to visit to look for a wedding gown designer.

She had nearly flopped down on her bed without looking, but saw the note just in time.

_Dear Anne,  
_ _Marilla tells me you’ll be back around four-thirty. I would kindly but strongly suggest that you come back down outside when you find this note.  
_ _Yours most completely,  
_ _Gilbert_

Anne’s heart pounded.

“Anne!” Marilla called. “Would you come downstairs? You have a visitor!”

“Coming...” Anne said faintly as she descended the stairs.

* * *

Not a minute later, Anne had her coat and hat back on and was outside in the snow. Gilbert was standing on the porch, holding a lantern and smiling. “Walk with me?”

Anne took his arm carefully. There was only one thing this could be, and as thrilled as she was, she was terrified he’d draw this out for far too long and she would either burst or faint.

Clearly, she wasn’t the only nervous one. Gilbert hardly said two words as they made their way to the spot they watched sunsets from in the summer. When they reached it, Gilbert carefully set the lantern on a nearby stump, and took Anne’s hands.

“Dearest Anne... you are a shining light in my life. From the day you broke that slate over my head, I’ve been yours. We’ve been through so much and put each other through more—” he paused as Anne choked out laughing sob “—and I want to keep learning and growing with you by my side. I love you so much. Anne... will you do me the honour of marrying me?”

Anne’s throat was too thick with tears to summon words at first, so she nodded enthusiastically, leaning in so her nose almost touched his. “Yes, Gil. Yes, I will marry you.”

They were so close that the instant Anne was done speaking, Gilbert was already kissing her with everything he had, as though she was the only thing that mattered. Anne couldn’t see him smiling, but she knew it was that relieved, jubilant smile he’d worn when Anne had let him know his feelings were very much returned.

Gilbert pulled back, fumbling in his pocket with one hand. Anne realized what he was doing and let go of his other one. When he finally found the ring seconds later, Gilbert very gently took Anne’s hand and slid the ring on, then bent to kiss it. As he straightened, Anne pulled him back to her lips as she slid her hand from his cheek into his hair. Gilbert matched her measure for measure, pulling her as close as their layers would allow with one arm, while burying his other hand in Anne’s hair.

It was some minutes before they finally pulled away.

“I suspected I wouldn’t have to wait terribly long,” Anne breathed. “I suppose I was lucky that Diana wanted tea. The look Marilla gave me on my way out to you said you were waiting.”

Gilbert nodded. “In the barn, with Matthew. I’ve never seen him happier.”

Anne laughed. “I can imagine.” She brought her hand up to brush her now very loose hair back from her face. Pretending annoyance (though unable to hide her smile), she asked, “Must you wreck my hair at every opportunity?”

“It’s not wrecking it; it’s giving me the opportunity to take in its full beauty,” Gilbert replied breezily.

Anne opened her mouth, but had no reply. The only word that came out was a lovingly accusing “Flirt.”

Gilbert laughed and lifted his hand to gently take a lock of her hair. “Well, as the man who will someday marry you, I should hope so.”

“We’re going to be married...” Anne sighed dreamily. She had been smiling so much it hurt, and yet, she couldn’t stop. “I knew this day was coming, and I knew I wanted it to get here, but... it’s true that every time we think we’ve guessed how we’ll feel, it’s much stronger and more wonderful than we’d ever anticipated, isn’t it?”

Gilbert nodded. “Indeed.” He grabbed the lantern. “I suspect everyone’s wondering where we are.”

Anne’s eyebrows shot up. “Everyone? Gilbert Blythe, exactly how busy have you been while I was at tea?”

Her fiancé ( _ Fiancé! _ Anne thrilled at the word.) gave her the charming, slightly lopsided smile she’d fallen in love with before she’d ever known it. “I just had Marilla and Matthew make their way over when they saw us head out this way. You’re all having dinner with us tonight.”

“Oh? Celebrating something, are we?” joked Anne as they began walking.

“I’d say you having the good sense to say yes to marrying me is a pretty momentous occasion,” Gilbert teased right back.

Anne rolled her eyes. “I’d like to think it’s that you had the good sense to ask.”

“Let’s just call it celebrating our love and our future and leave it at that, hm?” suggested Gilbert.

Anne rested her head against his shoulder. “I think I can agree with that.”

* * *

It had been quite the evening.

It had started with Bash excitedly taking Anne’s hand and kissing her on the cheek, and having Dellie and Hazel do the same. (Elijah hung back,  not wanting to be forward, but he’d given Anne a genuine smile and a nod.) Matthew had given Gilbert a hearty handshake before pulling him into a hug, and Marilla, too, embraced Gilbert.

Dinner talk had mostly been a blow-by-blow account of Gilbert’s proposal, though as Hazel and Marilla cleared the dishes, Bash teased Anne about her hair looking rather windswept. Anne had blushed, and Hazel had none-too-gently swatted her son with a dishtowel. Gilbert had chosen that moment to stand, and take Anne’s hand to go sit with her in front of the fire while the rest of the group stayed at the table to talk.

Now, as the embers burned low, Anne dozed on Gilbert’s shoulder, kept awake only by him occasionally squeezing or running his thumb up and down her shoulder. Bash, still the most sensitive to the cold of any of them, came in to add another few logs to the fire, but not before taking a moment to take in just how lovingly Gilbert gazed down at Anne before pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

Merriment in his voice, Bash told them, “I’m glad to see you’ve learned better ways of complimenting her hair than calling her Carrots, Blythe.”

Gilbert laughed as Anne piped up sleepily, “Me, too.”

“You ever want to get back at him, Anne, I’ve found ‘woollen mop’ gets the job done,” goaded Bash.

“Noted,” Anne murmured into Gilbert’s shoulder.

Not quite done, Bash continued, “Or you can always just remind him of the day _I_ got a shot and _he_ was the one who fainted.”

Gilbert glared at the man who had become his brother. “ _So_ funny, Bash. Just like the day you decided to try to knock down that nest of yellow jackets and wound up not being able to sit for a week.”

__

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you two alone. But Gilbert, Anne—you two treat each other right. It’s not everyday you find something like this.” The twinkle in Bash’s eyes was just a little sad now.

__

“Don’t worry, Bash, I’m not letting him go,” Anne promised.

__

“Nor I, you,” Gilbert told her.

__

Bash’s smile touched his eyes again. “Good. Then it is as it should be.”

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little shorty notes this time, but y’all got a proposal, some flirting, and some good family time. And a whole lot of words from the heart. Now, we wait for the wedding! (Hah, like the next few chapters are going to be just fluff. Y’all are in for a bit of a ride. Not too much of one, but it can’t be all sunshine and roses! Luckily, our favourite couple is steadily becoming much more well-versed in this T-E-A-M business!)  
> Oh, and if y’all hadn’t noticed, in this story, Gil 1000% has a thing for Anne’s hair. Like, he’s just incredibly in love with her anyway, but dude really and honestly loves her hair.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place roughly three or four months after the last chapter.

Anne couldn’t say she was entirely surprised she’d finally succumbed to a spring cold. On top of her teaching, she was starting to take correspondence courses to complete her B.A. in English. She’d hardly had a moment’s rest, and while she’d had the sniffles here and there, it was when Martin came down with a particularly nasty headcold that things had gone south. Gilbert had naturally, caught it as well,  having been the one to get Anne sick in the first place, and Mrs. Hodges, declaring herself both blessed with a strong constitution and having no desire to become ill, departed for the weekend, telling Anne that Gilbert could stay in the living room on the sofa, which was admittedly bed-like enough that Anne had fallen asleep on it several times, herself.

Gilbert was through the worst of it, and Anne was only a day or two behind, so while Anne was sniffling and blowing her nose nearly constantly, Gilbert was coughing and clearing his throat. While neither of them had expected this visit to be an exciting, romantic one, they hadn’t expected to be sighing in frustration and rolling their eyes and just generally feeling quite so testy.

“This is a terrible idea,” Anne sighed at her paper. She groaned and crumpled it up. “I’m so miserable I can’t think straight!” She didn’t look at Gilbert, but she could be addressing nobody else when she added, “And don’t you start—I am not saying so because I want you to feel badly about getting me sick.”

“Then would you please at least be a little quieter about it?” Gilbert snapped before sighing. “Sorry. This just... wasn’t a good idea. I should leave.”

“Well, before you go, let me at least make you some tea,” Anne offered bleakly. “The water should still be hot after the last pot I made myself.” She shuffled off to the kitchen.

Gilbert looked around. He added another log to the fire, then wandered over to a chest that, if he was correct, had some spare blankets in it.

* * *

Gilbert had been right.

He and Anne now sat in front of the fire, sharing a blanket and sipping tea. Anne hadn’t needed to blow her nose for nearly a quarter of an hour, and Gilbert had coughed only once.

“It transpires that _this_ was a good idea,” Anne told him with a smile. “Who knew we just needed to take a break?”

“Believe me; I am filing this away for future reference,” Gilbert promised.

Anne sipped her tea. “Being so idle does feel a bit odd, though...” She grabbed a crumpled piece of paper, smoothed it out, and murmured to herself as she tried to come up with spelling words for her class for the next week.

Gilbert leaned over to take a peek. “‘Transubstantiation’? Anne, when are they ever going to need to know how to spell that?”

“I have some Catholic converts in my class,” Anne replied. “They’re learning their catechism right now, and some of the words they’re coming in and saying are divinely complicated.”

“Divinely, indeed.” Gilbert nuzzled her neck, causing Anne to giggle in the middle of the groan she had as Gilbert pointed out her unintentional pun.

“Well, have you any suggestions, then?” Anne asked.

Gilbert started counting off words on his fingers. “Macula, retina, iris, sclera, cornea, lens...”

“Lens—that’s a word I can actually use.” Anne scrawled it down. “Not that I don’t appreciate your intelligence, my love, but we might need to tone it down a little bit, now that I stop to consider it.”

“How about ‘intelligent’?” Gilbert suggested.

Anne tapped her pen, not noticing that her fiancé’s tone had shifted to the slightly playful. “I suppose that could be a bonus word.” She wrote it down.

Gilbert quickly supplied another word. “Curious .”

“Hmm...” Anne wrote it down.

“Eager.” He waited for Anne to put it on the paper. “Intent. Assertive. Exquisite.”

At that last word, Anne finally stopped, realizing that he was giving her that intense look that shot warmth straight into her soul. She smiled. “The virtues according to Gilbert Blythe?”  She asked flirtatiously, or at least as flirtatiously as one could with a stuffed up nose.

He raised and lowered one shoulder. “All I know is that they describe you.”

“You say that as though they don’t describe you at all. You know perfectly well I feel the same about you.” Anne set the pen and paper aside and took Gilbert’s hands.

“Oh, believe me, I know. You could hardly make it more obvious, and I am not complaining about it.” Gilbert chuckled, managing to keep a cough down. “We’ve come quite a long way, haven’t we?”

Anne nodded. “The day before that disastrous county fair, I  was waxing poetic about you to Diana.”

“Oh?” Gilbert scooted behind Anne and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him. “Do tell.”

“I will if you stop talking right next to my ear. Having your lips brush it every time you speak is _very_ distracting... Don’t you dare!” She shrieked with a laugh as Gilbert dropped the lightest of kisses on the outermost curve of her ear. He settled back quickly enough, and she continued, “I had a cold, then, too, you know... Anyway, I recall saying—” She could already feel her cheeks pinking. “—that you looked like you’d just galloped out of the pages of a novel, and then I started talking about that dance...” She rubbed her face with her hands, embarrassed. “I may have referenced _Pride and Prejudice_.”

Gilbert nodded. “Not an unjust comparison.” He leaned forward so his cheek rested against Anne’s. “I realized, when I was defending you to the rest of the newspaper, that I should probably be saying it to you. Not that I haven’t since, but that night...” He sighed. “I don’t know exactly how much you read into my actions, but I was absolutely going to have kissed you.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. At the time, I mean,” Anne clarified. “You were looking at me... well, I’d seen it more and more as time had gone on. It’s not just a happy look, it’s a look of... longing, I suppose. As though I’m the only thing that matters, and I—I’m not used to being someone’s world. Not the way I feel I am with you.” Anne pulled Gilbert’s arms tighter around her and squeezed his hands. “It hardly feels fair.”

“You look at me the same way,” Gilbert told her, rubbing his thumbs across Anne’s knuckles. “You think I don’t notice, but I do. You’ve gotten so lost in it sometimes that Mrs. Hodges gives up any attempt at getting your attention. I’ll say it again, Anne: I couldn’t _not_ know that I am loved and wanted.”

Anne smiled gently. “I’ve been imagining and reading about romance and love for years, and yet, the real thing continues to astound me.”

“I hope it never stops,” Gilbert murmured into her ear, pulling Anne as close as he could against himself.

“Me, neither,” Anne agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes in this one! I figured the devolved spelling word brainstorm was enough. On that note (hah!), shout out to DS_ds for suggesting “transubstantiation” as a complicated spelling word in a comment for chapter 9!
> 
> EDIT: okay, AO3's habit of inserting random spans in the middle of words is driving me nuts, guys. Sorry for all the broken words in this chapter; they should be fixed now.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set a year give or take after chapter 15. This chapter probably comes closest to pushing the T rating, but all told, it is still quite tame. Like, clothing stays on; it just gets unbuttoned a bit.  
> CONTENT WARNING: Anne does discuss physical abuse in this chapter in a brief but significant amount of detail, specifically referencing a flashback from season 1.

Anne's hair was in complete disarray, not that she'd tried very hard to array it properly that morning. Thankfully, Mrs. Hodges was not at home to tease her about it, having departed to visit a dear friend for the weekend.

The look Gilbert had given her as they'd said their goodbyes yesterday still had her completely twitterpated through the night. She'd only very loosely braided her hair, though she'd somehow managed to tie it off tightly enough to keep it contained as she'd cleaned here and there this morning, but Gilbert, true to form, had managed to dispense with the ribbon as he'd embraced Anne after entering the house.

Anne had merely rolled her eyes and kissed him in response, but Gilbert could feel her grin against his lips. Anne had become accustomed to her fiancé finding her hair appealing, even if she would never quite understand why. Still, the feeling of his hand cradling the back of her head, tracing light circles at the corner of her cheek with his thumb had Anne clutching at his shirt to keep herself up.

When Gilbert pulled back for air, Anne seized her chance and moved to kiss the spot just below his ear, and continued slowly down to his collar, where she lingered.

“Here.” Gilbert’s voice was low in Anne’s ear as he guided her to the sofa with one hand, while undoing the first couple buttons on his shirt with the other.

“I am perfectly capable of undoing a couple buttons, Gil,” Anne insisted breathlessly, but her heart tripped over itself and revved up to speeds it had rarely reached when Gilbert took her hands, put them on the next button down, and, with a look that was daring, flirtatious, and something rather _more_ , challenged her, “Well, go on.”

Anne brought her lips back to Gilbert’s, but her hands hesitated for a moment. She took a deep breath, told herself not to think about it, and slipped the next button loose, gratified when she felt and heard Gilbert’s breath catch. Again, before she could really let herself question the wisdom of her decision, she wrenched away and down to the newly exposed skin. A small voice in her head reminded her it was probably prudent to keep her lips up by his shoulders for now, so she peeled back the shirt a bit and focused on dropping kisses along his collarbone. She could feel his heart pounding a steady rhythm underneath the hand that held the shirt back. Promising herself she’d be done after this one, she manoeuvred the next button loose and slid her hand just inside his shirt, circling her thumb at the centre of his chest as he had done to her cheek mere minutes before.

How had they gotten here, she wondered. She slowed down, finally allowing her thoughts to catch up with her.

“Anne?” Gilbert’s voice had an oddly raspy quality to it. She looked up and let him search her face, not entirely sure what he would find, and quite certain she didn’t have all the words to explain if he asked.

Instead, he placed his hand on her neck, just below her jaw. Anne raised a hand to hold it there for a moment before placing the gentlest downward pressure on it.

“You’re sure?” He couldn’t not ask.

“Yes.” She’d had to swallow before she’d whispered the word, but it came out confident.

Gilbert brushed a slow but light kiss to Anne’s lips and undid the first button on her blouse before just ghosting his lips across the small area of revealed skin.

“ _Oh,_ ” Anne didn’t even realize she’d said it, but knew that whatever sound she’d made, Gilbert had correctly divined the desire in it, and so undid another two buttons in quick succession. He moved his hand from Anne’s blouse to hold the hand she’d still had on his, but Anne slipped her hand from his and worked the next three buttons free. Most of the front of her chemise was now very much on display, and Anne had to smirk when Gilbert drew back briefly with an expression that was equal parts panicked, confused, and... well, there was no more suitable descriptor Anne could think of than hungry.

She shivered when Gilbert brushed the back of his hand across one of Anne’s own exposed collarbones, following swiftly behind with long kisses until he finally reached one of the straps of the chemise. Anne rolled her shoulders back comfortably and made another short noise of assent as Gilbert pulled the fabric aside just a little and trailed kisses up to her shoulder. Her free hand rested over Gilbert’s where he laid it on her other shoulder, taking his own turn to enjoy making Anne’s heart race. 

And then...

“Anne... What’s this scar from?” Gilbert sounded vaguely worried.

“Hm?” Anne blinked herself from the romantic haze they’d been in. “Where?”

“Here.” Gilbert traced a small but angry red scar, only couple centimetres long, where something had clearly dug into Anne’s shoulder.

Anne froze. She hadn’t really thought about it in a while; she wasn’t in the habit of looking at her own bare shoulders in the mirror. But she knew exactly what it was.

“Hey.” Gilbert let go of the chemise strap immediately and brought his hand to Anne’s face as tears began to well. “Anne, please... tell me? Or don’t, if you don’t want to, but...” he trailed off helplessly.

It was several tense minutes before Anne could muster the words. “Orphanages... aren't warm places, but you don't usually come out of most placements thinking you're worthy of love, let alone basic decency, either,” Anne said quietly, tears freely falling. “At one of the last homes I was in, I hadn’t done something properly. I don’t even know what; it was just the latest in a line of mystery infractions to an angry, drunk man. I was dragged outside and... he grabbed the lash. He hit me with it. Most of it healed pretty quickly, but I guess this just never did.” She was gazing into the fire, her eyes wide. One hand nervously fiddled with her hair while the other clasped her blouse shut. She was pulling in on herself, and tensing up.

Gilbert’s stomach rolled. He was heartsick and enraged and... worthless, for all he could do about it now. He couldn’t take away that pain. And while he couldn’t have known his question would have led to this, he could have at least guessed something like it and left well enough alone. “Anne, I am so sorry. For bringing it up. It was stupid of me. I... I don’t know what to—to say or do because nothing I can think of will make it better.”

“Just... hold me?” Anne turned so she could lean back against Gilbert’s chest and pulled his arms around her waist. Sighing, she started to talk again. “It’s not... an easy thing to talk about. But even so—and I know this will pain you to hear—I was _lucky_. Others came back in much worse shape. Some of the girls, even...” Anne trailed off, and Gilbert could easily guess. “I’ve been able to move on from it enough in other ways that I guess I never really thought about how it might affect romance, or... intimate relations.” She shrugged, knowing the gesture wasn’t as nonchalant as she wished it could be. “I don’t think I can go farther than this for a while, but I also...” She took a deep breath and admitted, “I don’t want this to affect our wedding night. I want to enjoy that in every way we’re meant to.” She chuckled with very little mirth. “Good thing it’s a long ways off.”

Gilbert buried his face in Anne’s hair and clutched her hands just a little tighter. “However it affects you, whether that means we slow down, or whatever... it’s your choice, Anne. As long as it’s not dangerous—and I can’t see why it would be—I support it. I will do whatever I can do to remind you that you are worthy of all the love you receive and more, even when it’s not easy, because, well, you are. You are strong and courageous and have a fighting spirit most people—myself included—envy. You are also one of the most compassionate, caring, selfless people I know.” His voice, which had been shaking with a few tears of his own, grew in steadiness. “You, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, are loved and supported by so many, though I dare to say by none more than me, and you are worthy of every last ounce of it. I will do whatever it takes to remind you of that when you need it, and even when you don’t.” He punctuated this by kissing the top of Anne’s head before drawing her hands to his lips and kissing them. 

Anne twisted to lean up and place a light kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Gil.” She turned back and pulled his arms closer about her, but her shoulders were relaxing bit by bit, and she flicked her blouse open almost casually to pull one of Gilbert’s hands over her heart. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d find a love like this, but I’m glad I have with you. I love you so much.” She took the hand over her heart, pressed a kiss to Gilbert’s palm, and then placed it back, content to just stay as they were.

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I don’t have all the words to properly express my feelings yet, but I wanted to thank you again. I know I’ve said those two words so many times that it must have lost all meaning, but they’re all I can say for now.  
_ _I’m still not sure how much I want to talk about the darker parts of my past right now, but when I do, I know that I will be safe and warm and loved, and that is what matters, and I know that I want to be there in the same capacity for you.  
_ _So, once again, thank you, Gil, for being who I need you to be. You are the most wonderful man, and I am so glad you are mine, and that I am unquestioningly  
_ _Yours,  
_ _Anne_

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I can assure you that “thank you” has not lost any meaning. In that same vein, “you’re welcome” has lost none of the sincerity I put behind it every time I say it, just the same as I am sincere in saying that I will be there all the same when you want to talk, and when you don’t. It is your safety and happiness that matter to me, whatever form those take.  
_ _As the man who will marry you, I will never not be there for you, just as I know that you have been and will again be there for me when I need it most. And so, of course, it is only natural that I remain most faithfully_  
_Yours,  
_ _Gilbert_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I struggled with writing this chapter because I know I can’t do Anne’s experience or the experience of other victims/survivors justice. I didn't want to gloss over it, but I didn't think she'd go entirely to pieces, either. I was just trying to work within an early 1900s no-therapists-only-close-family-and-friends framework, and I feel like Anne is resilient enough to make this chapter plausible, but still...


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And skipping ahead another year! The timeline actually slows down for this chapter and the two following it.

The year had fairly flown by. Anne hadn’t realized until she had received a diploma in the post that she was done with her degree, and she and Mrs. Hodges had a celebratory dinner that night. Gilbert  had been slightly miffed, but he had also been in the middle of writing a final paper, and Mrs. Hodges had promised to take them both out for dinner after Gilbert was done.

Between that and Bash making the trip out to watch Gilbert graduate and starting to look for a place back in Charlottetown and last-minute details of planning their wedding, they were relieved to have a night just to themselves while Mrs. Hodges went to the theatre.

“Is it too late to just run down to the courthouse tomorrow and get it over with?” Anne sighed.

“I will not stop you if that’s what you want,” Gilbert replied with a smile, knowing already what Anne’s choice would be.

Anne groaned and tossed aside the sheet she was looking over. “I _want_ sympathy.” She scooted over so her side was flush with Gilbert’s. “Twenty-one days seems like an eternity. A dull, packing- and moving-filled eternity.”

“At the end of which, we will be moved into our house. _Together_ ,” Gilbert emphasized, taking Anne’s hands.

Smiling despite herself, Anne rested her head on Gilbert’s shoulder, her grin only broadening when Gilbert rested his head gently atop Anne’s. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Gilbert remembered: “You said to remind you to choose meaningful flowers. Why don't you get out that book your father made your mother? You've talked about it, but I've never seen it.”

“Of course!” Anne pushed herself to her feet and returned briefly with the book.

Gilbert flipped it open to the portrait of Anne's mother. Anne traced the page reverently, tears shining in her eyes. "That is... quite the resemblance,” Gilbert told her.

“Oh, just you wait,” Anne sniffled with a laugh. She opened to a page with her mother's notes.

“Well, that's uncanny,” Gilbert said quietly, his eyes flitting between the note on the page and Anne’s own to-do list.

Anne pointed to an entry. “The similarities don't end there—forget-me-nots are my favourite flower, too.”

Gilbert nodded. “I’ve always been a fan of apple blossoms, mostly due to proximity, I suppose.”

“That’s not a poor reason,” Anne assured him. “They’re lovely and fragrant and...” Light dawned in Anne’s eyes. “If I recall, yours are in season.”

“You’ll put them in your bouquet, then?” Gilbert asked.

“Oh, much better.” Anne’s eyes sparkled with mirth and just a little playfulness. “My hair.”

“Anne, you are brilliant. I don’t tell you that enough.” Gilbert leaned in and kissed her.

Anne sighed and smiled against his mouth. “And yet you never fail to let me know.” She tilted her head and opened her mouth against Gilbert’s when the door opened. Mrs. Hodges had returned.

While Mrs. Hodges was quite liberal, there was a tacit agreement that displays of affection beyond those deemed appropriate by society at large were not to occur around her. _That way, if anyone asks, I can’t tell a soul,_ she’d said with a wink, causing Anne to blush.

“Oh, children, you really ought to get out and see the sights more before you go!” Mrs. Hodges sang. “I had the most wonderful time. _M_ _uch Ado About Nothing_ is truly a masterpiece, and so funny! All these misunderstandings that could have been cleared up if only the people concerned had just talked—oh, you’ve seen it?” she asked when Gilbert and Anne looked at each other and burst out laughing. Anne had revealed most of her history to Mrs. Hodges, and while the woman was incredibly attentive, it didn’t seem to have occurred to her that she could be describing her tenant and her tenant’s fiancé. Anne knew it was because Mrs. Hodges was thinking of the deeper plot while only describing the surface level problem, but the coincidence was too much not to laugh at.

Mrs. Hodges looked curiously at the book Anne and Gilbert held between them. “What a beautiful thing, Anne! I assume the book is yours, anyway?”

Anne nodded. “It’s the only thing I have of my parents’. My father wrote it for my mother. We’re trying to decide which flowers I should carry.”

“Roses, dear. Lovely deep red ones, especially to go with your complexion. And of course, baby’s breath; that’s a must in a wedding bouquet.” Mrs. Hodges looked up from the book. “Was there anything else?”

“Forget-me-nots,” answered Anne, still mulling over her landlady’s suggestions. They weren’t unappealing, and Aunt Jo would certainly help to procure the roses—she seemed to know every florist in Charlottetown.

“That seems like a splendid trio,” Mrs. Hodges told her. “I may be many years removed from it, but my wedding advice is to go with your first instinct, and flip a coin when you disagree. Not because it will actually decide it, but because you will know in that moment whether or not a thing truly matters to you.”

Anne and Gilbert glanced at each other. They’d been able to resolve all of their disagreements thus far, but it seemed like good advice.

“Now, young man, us ladies need our beauty rest, so I will kindly request that you depart until tomorrow. I’ll be out of your way as you pack Anne’s things.” Mrs. Hodges made a shooing motion with a gleam in her eyes.

Gilbert stood and put a hand down to draw Anne up with him, giving her a quick kiss before leaving. Anne bid Mrs. Hodges good night and went to her room. She pulled out the box of letters she’d kept over the last eight years, starting with the one Gilbert had sent her from Trinidad. She rifled through them, not looking for anything in particular, but letting memories flow over her until a more recent one caught her attention.

_Dear Anne,  
_ _It’s been a trying day.  
_ _Not because of anything academically, but because I hadn’t realized that there would be so many people who wouldn’t understand why I would want my future wife to be intelligent and passionate and able to be her own person away from me. I’d thought—hoped, perhaps naively—that leaving Avonlea behind meant leaving attitudes of the likes of certain people behind, but alas, it appears not.  
I_ _t makes me wonder how often you have to deal with this, and how much of a toll it takes on you. You’ve never stopped being you, and for that I am grateful. I want you to know as much as possible that you will always have my support in being who you are, just as your support for me has been unwavering.  
_ _All of this is to say, thank you, Anne, for being the best thing to happen to me. I want to be the same for you.  
_ _Love,  
_ _Gilbert._

She’d written back hastily, so as not to lose her words.

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I think you can guess how often I’ve dealt with that attitude towards me. I’ve been asked in the past few years if I’m sure I can “handle” having a doctor as a husband, given that you’ll be so busy that I will have no choice but to conform to what society expects of me.  
_ _What these people miss is that all I need is someone who treats me as an equal. That person is and always has been you. So, even when I must say for the millionth time that I couldn’t be happier to become your wife, I mean it. Nobody else has to understand what we have in order for us to have it, is my conclusion.  
_ _So, of course, I must also thank you for being the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I must say that I endeavour to be the same for you.  
_ _Love always,  
_ _Anne_


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just pure T-rated romantic fluff. Very slightly steamier than chapter 16, but still not explicit enough to warrant a higher rating. Er, I think...

“What do you want me to do with this box, Anne?” Gilbert was holding Anne’s box of correspondence.

“I’ll take care of it.” Anne took it, smiling up at him. “This has so many memories—I still have the letter you sent me from Trinidad. I was far too excited to receive it. Marilla gave me a look that said she knew.”

“I think she did, honestly,” Gilbert laughed as Anne carefully packed the box in a trunk.

Anne swiped her wrist across her forehead and wiped her hands on her trousers to remove the dust. She’d worn them a few times when Gilbert had been over, and while he’d only once commented appreciatively, the ardent looks had not stopped. If anything, they’d increased in intensity, and Anne couldn’t say she didn’t like how it made her feel. “It’s a good thing we’re done. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.”

“The packing, or the longing looks?” Gilbert asked, following her out to the kitchen.

“Both, you terrible man. You’ve been distracting me all afternoon!” Anne rinsed her hands and watched as Gilbert did the same.

Gilbert put his hands on Anne’s hips to draw her in. “I can’t say I’m sorry. Or at least, I wouldn’t mean it if I did.” He gave Anne a long kiss, enjoying the feeling of her arms around him, one of her hands grasping at his shirt as though it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the earth. When they finally drew back, Anne took his hand and led him back to her room, carefully closing the door behind them just in case Mrs. Hodges returned early, though she’d promised she had “an entirely full docket today—you may not see me until tomorrow morning, when your banging about to leave will inevitably rouse me!”

With the door securely closed, Anne turned only to find Gilbert standing right there. She silently said a prayer of gratitude that she hadn’t tired herself out during packing as Gilbert pressed her against the door with a desperate kiss that Anne eagerly reciprocated.

It had been a long time since that fateful day when Gilbert had asked about the scar on Anne’s shoulder. While the opportunities to lose themselves so completely had been sparse since then, Anne had surprised herself by warming up quickly to the idea. She supposed it helped that they had also talked about the things that weighed heavily on them outside of any passionate moment. So, when Gilbert unfastened the buttons on Anne’s blouse one by one, halting each time to give her a moment to tell him he’d gone far enough, Anne’s only reaction was to undo another button on Gilbert’s shirt.

When Anne’s blouse was all the way undone, she wriggled her shoulders to drop both the suspenders and her blouse. It was then that she pulled away just a bit, breathing hard. “I...” she hadn’t been entirely sure what she had been about to say, but her ability to form words at all deserted her for a moment when Gilbert removed his own suspenders and shirt.

“I think... this is a good place to stop,” Anne whispered faintly. “I know we’ll be married in less than a month, anyway, but...” she trailed off, opting instead to kiss Gilbert.

“You don’t need to explain, Anne.” It wasn’t that it was easy, but it was right, and it was more or less the same call Gilbert had been getting ready to make. He leaned in and kissed her gently. With only Anne’s chemise separating her skin from his, each could feel the other’s heartbeat. Anne squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to remember this moment.

She squeaked in surprise against Gilbert’s mouth as he slowly walked them backward to her bed. Gilbert was able to kick off his own shoes, but Anne had to bend to untie her boots before lying down so her back was nestled against Gilbert’s chest. He’d wrapped both his arms around Anne’s stomach, but Anne moved one to fall across her chest so that his hand held her shoulder.

“This... is nice,” Anne breathed. She wasn’t tense in the least, relaxation winning out against excitement.

Gilbert hummed in agreement and kissed the back of Anne’s neck, breathing her in.  He’d almost dozed off  a few minutes later when Anne began to speak.

“You know, even though we’ve been engaged... even though we’ve talked and, well, _this_...” Anne knew she shouldn’t be blushing, but she was. “I guess I still hadn’t been entirely _certain_ until just now that I was capable of a truly loving, happy relationship. I mean, you never really know what you’re capable of until you try, but there’s been a small part of me that’s been worried... I’ve seen so few happy marriages in my life, comparatively anyway. How can I know how to create one without an example?” She wriggled so she was as close to Gilbert as possible, appreciating that he tightened his arms around her reassuringly. “It was why I didn’t want to get married for the longest time.”

“I thought I was going to be trapped in a content but boring marriage if I married,” admitted Gilbert. “Everyone took my studiousness as not wanting adventure, when the opposite couldn’t have been more true.” He waited for Anne, who was turning to face him, to stop moving. “You bring wonder to my life just by being in it, Anne.” He kissed the tip of her nose, laughing as Anne reacted by wrinkling her nose happily. “See? I never know what to expect of you.”

Anne rolled her eyes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hooking one of her legs around one of his.  She changed her angle to kiss Gilbert’s neck just as he reached down to grab Anne’s leg  and pull her as close as he possibly could.

“Really, though, there is no one else I’d rather figure out a happy marriage with than you, Anne,” he told her as she worked her way to his collarbone. “Not that I think we’ll have a terribly difficult time of it, and not just in this regard.”

Anne stopped very suddenly. “Oh dear. I think... Marilla will probably feel duty-bound to discuss with me what to expect on our wedding night. How does one explain that they do not need such instruction without revealing why?”

Gilbert shrugged, chuckling just a bit. “I can’t say I would know. I doubt anyone’s going to feel the need to lecture a doctor on consummating his own marriage, though the minister might try,” he grimaced as Anne took her turn to laugh.

“If it’s anything like the lecture he gave me on the purpose of women as their future husband’s helpmeet, you have my deepest sympathies,” Anne assured him. “At least Mrs. Lynde won’t be able to call us scandalous for holding hands in public anymore.”

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she’ll ever stop trying to come up with reasons to call us scandalous.”

“We ought to wear it as a badge of honour.” Anne sat up and placed her hand over Gilbert’s heart, and pulled one of his up to place over hers. “Gilbert Blythe, I pledge to remain most scandalously in love with you.”

“And I, with you, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.” Gilbert pulled her back down for a tender, slow kiss, deciding to tease Anne by finally removing the scarf she had been using to keep the hair from her eyes. Though Anne couldn’t see it, Gilbert raised his eyebrows when, upon retrieving it from his hand, she cast it to the floor and buried her hands in his hair. Still, he knew when he was being given a cue, and responded in kind, kissing Anne much more firmly as he did so. Anne seemed to melt into his grasp, and he felt as much as heard her moan quietly. Gilbert pulled away from Anne’s lips and started nibbling and kissing his way down Anne’s throat.

“ _Gil_ ,” Anne gasped.

“ _Anne,_ ” he whispered back reverently, now at her collarbone and trailing as low as Anne’s chemise would allow before finally stopping and resting his head on Anne’s chest, his ear right over her heart.

How long precisely they lay like that, neither of them knew, but it was  long after their hearts stopped racing and even then, only very slowly that they returned themselves to rights, dropping a kiss here or there. Gilbert helped hold Anne’s hair so she could put the scarf back in it.  Anne helped untwist Gilbert’s suspenders so they lay flat against him.

“I want to tell you not to go,” Anne murmured as they headed to the door.

“In just a few more weeks, I won’t,” promised Gilbert, giving Anne another kiss and drawing back to caress her cheek. Anne caught his hand and held it there for just a moment before kissing his palm and pressing it to his heart. In return, she got that slightly lopsided smile she so adored, paired with the most sincerely loving eyes.

They’d never tire of each other, she knew. There was just too much to explore as long as they had each other.

“I love you,” Gilbert said quietly.

“I love you,” Anne repeated back.

Gilbert waved and shut the door, and Anne leaned back against it and sighed, wondering just how to survive the next few weeks, but knowing there was so much to look forward to once she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes this chapter! I’m sorry... sort of, but there really wasn’t a good way to fit them in.  
> Also, adding to the list of things Gilbert is definitely a fan of: Anne in trousers. Like, he already checks her out relentlessly enough, but I think seeing Anne in trousers would add a whole new dimension of want to that.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They weren’t going to have written notes this chapter, but both common sense and sentimentality prevailed, and so, they will. Basically, this is the sappiest, fluffiest chapter, and I had a smile on my face the entire time I was writing it. I have been so excited to post this!

Moving back to Charlottetown had been a bit more of a process than either Anne or Gilbert had expected, but finally, they had found a small house that would suit a young, married couple for at least their first year of marriage. Gilbert had insisted that Anne occupy it until their wedding day, saying he could lodge with Bash and get his work done from Avonlea and check up on the orchard, whilst Anne could spend time with Diana and Marilla preparing for the wedding.

Anne had agreed, “but only on the condition that I be allowed to visit Avonlea twice,” she’d joked. Gilbert had rolled his eyes and given Anne a fond, firm kiss as his only reply.

Now, Gilbert stared at the orchard. It was so alive! He’d only been able to imagine it when he’d started working with Bash, but now, with really only minimal help from him, it had returned to its former glory.

“Ready for the big day, Blythe?” Bash asked, clapping Gilbert’s shoulder.

“I don’t know why that’s a question.” Gilbert grinned.

Bash laughed. “And yet, if I could go back and tell the boy I met shovelling coal on a ship that this is where he’d be in eight years...”

Gilbert shook his head. “I’m not sure what I would have said or done.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to believe me, Blythe. You weren’t even able to admit it to yourself for the longest time! I had to tell you again and again that you were gone over her, and even then, you didn’t believe me! But, finally...” Bash started wriggling in an excited dance. “I wiiiiiiiiinnnnnn...”

Gilbert couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, yes, you do. And your prize?”

“Being able to lord it over you. And seeing you happy with Anne. Believe it or not, that’s all I need.” Bash smiled fondly, wrapping his arm around Gilbert’s shoulders. “You’re my brother, after all.”

“Uncle Gilbert!” Delphine ran up to the men and wrapped her arms around Gilbert’s leg. “Is it true that you’re marrying Auntie Anne and you’re going to live happily ever after?”

“That is indeed the truth, Dellie.” Gilbert picked Delphine up. “Oof! This used to be so much easier when you were a baby.”

Delphine giggled and bounced in Gilbert’s arms before reaching out for Bash. “Papa!”

“Come here, Dellie.” Bash took his daughter. “That’s a girl.” He looked at Gilbert. “I’m proud of you, Blythe. You have become the man you wanted to in every way.”

Gilbert laughed. “There were a few stumbling blocks along the way.”

“There always are. But not everyone would rectify months of poor communication by nearly missing his train to college and instead running to his love’s boarding house before flagrantly and scandalously embracing her on the front lawn.” Bash’s face went a little sombre. “Not every man would give up the Sorbonne.” At Gilbert’s wince, he apologized, “I’m sorry for reminding you, but that will always be a part of your life. Learn from it. Run toward her every time, no matter how much you feel like running away. Tell her you love her, even when it’s not easy to do so. Cherish her, Gilbert. She’s worth it. And knowing Anne, she will return your love in ways you never thought possible.” He walked away, leaving Gilbert just a little stunned.

* * *

_Dear Gilbert,  
_ _I’m having Matthew deliver this to you on our wedding day. I just want to say that I am so looking forward to this life with you. I’ve hardly been able to bear it, honestly.  
_ _Starting today, I shall be able to call you my husband. It’s a word that I never thought would make me happy, but since it’s you, it can hardly make me feel otherwise.  
_ _I will see you soon, my love.  
_ _Forever yours,  
_ _Anne_

* * *

_Dear Anne,  
_ _I had the good fortune of running into Diana this morning, and she promised me she will deliver this to you tomorrow. Well, today when you’re reading it.  
_ _Anne, I can hardly believe it; we will be husband and wife mere hours after you read this, and the way I feel about that dwarfs every other positive emotion I have experienced by comparison.  
_ _I can’t wait, Anne, but wait, I must until I am, once again and forever  
_ _Yours,  
_ _Gilbert_

* * *

“You _would_ pick the only rainy day this summer to get married!” Diana teased as she bounced her son on her hip.

“I hear rain on your wedding day is supposed to mean luck,” Anne retorted happily as Marilla finished adjusting her train.

Diana laughed. “Not when you have your wedding outside!”

“It’s in a gazebo! You will be dry, Diana, I promise!” Anne took a deep breath of her bouquet and sighed.

Marilla beamed at her daughter. “My dear Anne, you look happier than I have ever seen you.” She kissed Anne on the cheek. “And I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“None of us could,” Diana agreed. “This day has been entirely too long in coming.”

Anne wanted to tell Diana she had no idea how right she was and on how many levels, but it seemed imprudent to say, so she merely continued beaming.

“Anne?” A polite knock sounded on the door, Gilbert’s voice causing Anne’s heart to race. They were so close.

“So much as _think_ about opening that door, Gilbert Blythe, and I will make Anne’s slate seem like a love tap!” Diana roared playfully.

The chuckle in response did nothing to settle the fizzing in Anne’s stomach and heart, not that she was complaining. “Rest assured, Mrs. Wright, I had no such intentions. I would prefer not to spend my wedding day concussed. I just wanted to be the one to come and say that... it’s time.”

“You are so sickeningly in love, you know?” Diana heckled, though not at all unkindly. “Go and send Matthew here, and get to that gazebo. I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep Anne from running into your arms if you stay.”

With a final laugh, Gilbert’s footsteps sounded away. Diana grinned at Anne before handing her son to Marilla and embracing Anne gently so as not to muss Anne’s dress. “I’m not going to ask if you’re ready. You’ve been ready for far too long, and now, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, it is time for you to go reap your reward.”

* * *

She was walking between Marilla and Matthew, but everything fell away as soon as Anne’s eyes met Gilbert’s. It was as though every moment in her life had been guiding her to this one, and now, it was here. Everything Anne was feeling, she could see reflected in Gilbert’s face: Warmth. Excitement. Contentment. Bliss. Awe. Tenderness. Passion.

But, most of all, pure, fathomless love.

The minister had to yell over the patter of rain on every canvas and umbrella to be heard, but Anne and Gilbert felt no such compunction as they repeated their vows; they would say them again later tonight, in the privacy of their own bedroom.

When it was announced that the newly wed couple should kiss, Gilbert smirked and swept Anne out into the rain, eliciting an overjoyed laugh from her  and letting out one of his own as they pulled each other closer into a familiar kiss. It was the same way they’d kissed on the lawn of Blackmore six years ago: tender, loving, and (as Rachel Lynde would half-complain later while utterly failing to hide a wistful smile) “altogether indecently”  passionate.

They would laugh about it later as they lay together, basking in each other’s warmth, exchanging caress after caress and kiss after kiss, even long after their  most carnal desires had been sated for the night.  And it would be then that they would truly, deeply know that everything had finally fallen into place, and  _that_ would be the best feeling of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read on for the epilogue! Yes, as an early Christmas present (well, maybe not all that early for some of you), I’ve decided to post both on Christmas Eve.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18 months after they get married, it's late winter. We just get one note this time, and it’s from Gil.

_My dearest Anne,  
_ _I am so sorry that I've been so busy these past few months. I know you have taken it all in stride, but don't think I haven't noticed that it's been running you ragged.  
_ _I intend to show you just how much I appreciate it this weekend, starting tonight. Unless there is an emergency nobody else can attend to, I am at your beck and call completely. Your every wish, no matter how inconsequential or immense, will be granted by me, at least where it is in my power to do so.  
_ _I remain  
_ _Your most devoted husband,  
_ _Gilbert_

Anne smiled as the read the note and brushed back a rogue tear that had escaped. She'd had no doubt that Gilbert had noticed and had already been trying not to make things too difficult, but he was offering, and she had every intention of taking him up on it.

A plan sprang into her head nearly fully formed, and Anne allowed herself to giggle aloud. Gilbert had no idea what he was in for.

* * *

“A spelling competition?”

“For old times' sake! And anyway, I'm giving one to my students, and I must practice being the quizmaster! I intend to use their vocabulary words and give them only the definition, as we used to in our letters.”

Gilbert laughed. “Very well. I did say any wish, didn’t I?”

Anne smiled. "Good. I don't think it will take me very long to get warmed up, anyway, so let's just try one word. A word defined as the beginning, or the point when some... thing starts to take form.”

“The point when _s_ _omething_ starts to take form? That could be any number of words, Anne! At least give me a moment to look over your list so that I might choose the appropriate one.” Gilbert was looking at his wife fondly, but curiously. She had an objective, and he was starting to wonder if a spelling quiz was really it.

Anne smiled and corrected softly as her hands went unconsciously to her abdomen, “I suppose it would be more accurate to say the point at which some _one_ starts to take form.”

Gilbert froze for half a second, then, his eyes never leaving Anne's, he stood and pulled her to her feet. “Am I to understand,” he whispered, a wide smile leaving no part of his features untouched by hope and joy, “that the word you are defining is spelled C-O-N-C-E-P-T-I-O-N?”

Anne nodded happily, tears welling in her eyes. “That is most correct.”

“Anne...” Gilbert folded her carefully in a secure embrace. "You really mean it.”

“I really mean it. In six months' time, give or take, we will be parents. We will...” Anne breathed deeply, almost unable to believe she was going to say it. “We will have a baby.”

Gilbert tightened his arms around Anne a little bit. “And I've been running you off your feet this whole time?”

Anne pressed a finger to his lips. “ _Don't._ You of all people know I'm not blown glass. That's not to say I wouldn't _appreciate_ you taking the load off a little more now, but, if I'm correct, you didn't marry me believing or desiring me to be anything other than strong and capable. This doesn't change that.”

Gilbert shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. “You are correct, as ever.” His eyes softened. “Anne, this makes me... I don't think I have words for it.”

Anne's eyes gleamed in the candlelight. “Then, for my next request, you can show me some other way.”

The answering deep chuckle made Anne's heart flutter. “Very well. But just remember: you asked. I am merely delivering upon your request.” He took a hand and tipped Anne's chin up to kiss her gently at first, but very quickly, the kisses turned heated and hard and frantic, and each pulled the other as close as possible. It was only when Anne started working at the buttons on his shirt that Gilbert pulled back, his hand only very momentarily stopping hers. “I'm torn between telling you that you get to do none of the work and begging you to keep going, but, first things first, as I have promised both you and myself that I am taking care of you tonight...” He lifted Anne just enough to shift her feet onto his and started to walk them toward the bedroom as Anne laughed.

* * *

“I love you, Anne,” Gilbert murmured into her hair as they lay intertwined with only the covers to keep the chill night off them.

“I couldn't _not_ know after that, no matter how hard I might try,” Anne chuckled contentedly, before adding, “not that I intend to, of course.” She pressed a kiss to Gilbert's throat before nuzzling into his shoulder. “I love you, Gilbert. Even as our lives change, our love the one thing I will always be utterly certain of.”

Gilbert murmured something sleepily and pressed a kiss to Anne's forehead, pulling her closer as they both drifted off to sleep, utterly and blissfully satisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a ride. I am so glad I did it! And I am so glad y’all were right here with me! Thank you for the kudos, the bookmarks, the subscriptions, and the comments. I write for me, quite honestly, and I’m just glad my stories find more folks to love them.  
> ‘Til next we meet!


End file.
